County does additional trimming of jail project
Staff reporter
Making tough decisions continues to occupy the minds of Marion County Commission regarding a new jail/justice center project.
Knowing county voters will not support a $15 million project, the commission took a closer look Monday at ways to cut back on the project.
If the county were to build a 40-bed facility with only the sheriff's office and communications department included, the approximate cost would be $9.4 million.
It was pointed out during the meeting that if Marion County prisoners are transported to Chase County or some other facility, that the expense would be in addition to operating expenses currently being paid for the county's jail.
The county jail would continue to be used to hold prisoners before being transported or while awaiting court appearances.
Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker said the county spends $18 per day per inmate. That expense will not change. An additional $40 per day per inmate would have to be paid by the county if taken to another jail facility plus transportation costs and wages.
Holub asked where Marion County prisoners would go if Chase County was full?
Commissioner Bob Hein asked if Harvey County was a possibility. Becker responded it was.
Hein continued that he had talked with the Harvey County jail administrator and was told there was sufficient space available.
"Everyone we've talked with has room," Becker said, "but each year we postpone any project, it will cost $1 million more."
"It is not going to be cheaper to ship out (prisoners)," Holub said. "Do we want a Band-Aid fix or a solution?"
Holub continued that construction would be a one-time expense. Shipping prisoners to another county would not.
Commission chairman Randy Dallke agreed.
"We don't want to make decisions that will cause more problems in the future," he said, such as waiting another year or two.
Regardless if prisoners are farmed out or incarcerated at the local facility, the county would incur additional costs to update the current jail, Becker said, that could be more than $1 million.
All of the commissioners agreed that their constituents would not support a sales tax increase or bond issue that would fund a $15 million project.
The real challenge was determining what could be cut and where the line was drawn when the project becomes an expense rather than a source of revenue.
"We determined in the very beginning we needed to have a 72-bed facility in order to be self-supporting," Holub said.
Bond counselor Dave Artebury of George K. Baum Company participated in the meeting via telephone conference. Holub asked him for a financing rundown of a $10 million project.
If a one-half cent sales tax were passed, approximately $480,000 could be generated from that tax. In order to make the $820,000 bond payment per year, based on 20 years, property taxes would need to be increased 3.47 mills to cover the remaining bond payment of $340,000.
As the excess sales tax increased to make the bond payments, property taxes would decrease.
It was determined if a 72-bed facility were constructed with 60 beds rented at $30 per day, the revenue generated from those 60 beds could cover most of the bond payment.
Holub said he talked with business owners in Marion, Hillsboro, and Peabody and was told they would rather see a sales tax increase than an increase in property taxes because they would be hit twice — a tax increase for their business properties and home properties.
"The potential is there to build a facility that can make money," Holub said, "but we'd have to market it."
Dallke asked if the costs could be further trimmed.
"You can build a house for a millionaire or a common person," Dallke said. "Are there any additional cosmetic expenses?"
Architect Dan Hall of BG Consultants said the building frame would be either wood or metal with a natural stone front. Otherwise, they would have to follow the general guidelines for constructing a jail facility.
It would be built as maintenance-free as possible. Hall said he wouldn't recommend a flat roof and doesn't advocate a flat roof for any building in Kansas.
"Some facilities have the outside wall as a cell wall," Hall said. "This would have an exterior wall which would make it more efficient."
The shape of the building also determines the amount of personnel needed to operate the facility. It was pointed out that Chase County uses more staff than Harvey County because of the floor plans.
It was estimated that 15 people would be needed to operate a new facility at an approximate cost of $35,000 each per year which included wages and benefits. An estimate of $100,000 for utilities also was discussed.
Dallke asked if the county built a larger facility and wasn't able to fill it, could the county support it? He also suggested expanding the facility after a few years when it is known that the jail can provide adequate revenue to be self-sufficient.
Hall suggested including an alternate in the bid specs for additional beds, in case the bids come in lower than projected.
Artebury pointed out that the question on the ballot would ask if a sales tax should be imposed to pay for a project and it would not include the dollar amount.
Holub continued to voice his concerns about a 40-bed jail not being self-sufficient.
"You could build a 72-bed jail for less than $10 million but everything else would be eliminated and you would need to build it on the current jail site," Hall said, to eliminate ground work and landscaping.
"It could cost $3 to $4 million to update the current jail (elevator, meet ADA compliance, sewer, plumbing, electrical, etc.) but it would still be in an old structure," Becker said.
The approximate cost for 60 beds and the sheriff's department and communications would be $10.6 million.
The commission decided it would rather take its time with this project instead of trying to rush to meet the April election.
"We want to present a do-able project," Dallke said.
Artebury suggested the commission have a public building commission in place before the question is placed on the ballot.
Hall was instructed to return to the next commission meeting with an updated drawing of 40 beds, a sheriff's department, and communication center.
