Consultant: old hospital a bad idea as jail

Jim Hart, CTAS (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

A consultant from the University of Tennessee's County Technical Assistance Service told Bedford County commission members on Tuesday that moving prisoners into the old Bedford County Medical Center building on Union Street would not be the financial boon that had been informally projected last month.

Meanwhile, the county is continuing to look at purchasing the Regions Bank building on the Shelbyville square for use as additional courtroom space.

Jim Hart, a jail management consultant with CTAS, spoke Tuesday evening to a joint meeting of Bedford County Board of Commissioners' courthouse and county property committee with the law enforcement and workhouse committee. Hart has been talking to sheriff's department administrator Larry Lowman about the department's proposal, which the committees have been discussing over the past two months, to turn the old hospital into a sheriff's office and housing for female prisoners and non-violent "weekender" prisoners.

Hart said the hospital building "might not be the best option" because it would be the third different site housing prisoners, behind the county jail on Spring Street and the workhouse on Lane Parkway.

Not a windfall

Last month, Lowman presented figures indicating that the county could profit by taking additional state inmates, but Hart disputed those figures, saying the county's cost of housing a state felon was $37 per day according to the last figures he could find, of which the state reimburses $35. Hart also said that Tennessee Department of Corrections is making changes to its operations that will reduce the state's backlog and the number of felons the state must keep in county jails. Those changes include more reliance on community corrections programs and sending soon-to-be discharged inmates to "residential release centers."

The presentation had also indicated that commissary revenues from prisoners might help to pay for renovation of the hospital building, but Hart said that visually-impaired vendors, who by state law have the right to operate concessions at any state facility, might step in and exercise that right if the county were to build or open a new facility. He said changes such as construction of a new jail or opening of a new facility are sometimes an occasion for this.

Hart said the blind vendors could operate the commissary themselves or negotiate for the revenue from a county-operated commissary.

Coordinating committee

Hart said the local jail is "obviously crowded" and that the county needs physical plant improvements. He said some counties have set up a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee that would bring together all elements of the criminal justice system. In one such county, the committee worked out ways to hear some cases with non-violent inmates more quickly, so that the inmates would be less likely to lose their jobs as a result of their court cases.

Hart commended the sheriff's department for exploring all options and said that when the county is ready to build a new facility, such as a justice center, which would combine a jail with courtrooms and court clerk offices, it should send local officials to the National Institute for Corrections' new facility training program. This program is funded by the Department of Justice, but it is open only to communities that are committed to building a new facility.

Micky Capley, a local contractor who also works in the jail industry, told the committee that transportation costs would add to the cost of using the hospital to house inmates.

"A new facility is the very best way," said Capley. He said that there are ways to make such a facility pay for itself.

"Why would private enterprise go into the jail business if it was not profitable?" he asked.

Lowman said that if the county were to build a complete justice center, it would need to be expandable to up to 500 beds over the next 30 years. The current jail has 110 beds.

Lowman said financing would be available for such a facility, but commissioners told him that CTAS has said the county is borrowed to its limit and does not have the money to repay any further loans. Another CTAS representative, Robin Roberts, had been scheduled to attend Tuesday night's meeting to discuss funding and financing issues, but he never arrived.

Thomas moved to pursue formation of a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee.

Courtroom space

Meanwhile, the county's court system is also short on space and has found it difficult to meet new security requirements in the courthouse. Although a jail and justice center is still thought of as a long-term solution, Commissioner Linda Yockey said it's at least five years in the future.

"I don't think our court system can last five years," she said.

Regions Bank is seeking a buyer for its building on the square, although the bank wants to continue to lease the first floor of the building, at least in the short term, and the drive-through branch in back. Circuit Court Clerk Thomas Smith presented floor plans for the use of the bank building to house courtrooms and clerk's offices. Smith's plans included the first floor; when it was pointed out that the bank building wants to continue to lease the first floor, Smith said that the bank does plan to move out eventually and his plans represent a longer-range view.

It would cost about $115,000 to $120,000 to bring the building's sprinkler system and elevator up to current codes. Commissioner Joe Tillett said the rental revenue would help pay for the building's purchase. The county also has money from an increase in court costs that has been set aside in a special fund for courthouse renovation and security.

Yockey moved that the committees recommend moving ahead with purchase of the bank building. She said that if the county does build a jail and justice center in the future, the bank building would still be a valuable asset which the county should be able to sell.