Owen County officials push for new jail as current facility deteriorates

Owen County is spending more than $100,000 each year just to keep its aging jail limping along.

"That's just trying to keep it running," Jail Commander Major Bill Snodgrass said. "There's a lot of stuff that we should do that I'm not doing because I don't want to spend the money."

He pointed to the peeling paint on the walls in the jail cells at the Owen County Security Center, but he can't see spending money on a cosmetic repair when a new facility is on the horizon.

Or rather, with a new facility being closer than it has been since the need for a new jail was first discussed more than a decade ago. Snodgrass said he's avoided cosmetic repairs, like the new paint, for the last six years.

In the first six months of the year, Owen County has spent $44,305.39 on repairs just to keep the current jail functioning.

According to numbers provided by Snodgrass, HVAC repairs have cost the county $38,889.64, and plumbing repairs $2,732.85.

And those numbers are only climbing.

Snodgrass estimated that there is another $10,250 in repair expenses that have not yet been billed, including replacing a leaking HVAC valve and blower components serving both the entire facility and the administrative offices.

In addition, at a recent jail committee meeting it was estimated that each month the county waits to start building a new jail increases the cost by approximately $125,000.

A sinking foundation

In the current jail, all the sewer lines are beneath it, so as they deteriorate and need repair, the jail's concrete floor must be broken to access them. Then, new concrete has to be poured to repair the floor.

This all adds to the cost of repairing the jail.

In fact, a few years ago, when a drain collapsed in one of the holding cells known as a drunk tank, it cost $34,000 to repair.

Sheriff Ryan White said with the excess rain in mid-May, the entire facility smelled like raw sewage, and as he pointed out, if you look closely on the outside of the facility at its corners, the brick is cracking as the jail sinks further into the ground.

White, Chief Deputy Matt Miller and Snodgrass led a tour of the facility, and the first issue they pointed out was that the outside door leading into the sallyport is rusted and unable to be secured.

This is something noted in this year's jail inspection report.

"As mentioned in previous years' inspection reports, some doors do not function consistently in PODs F and J and require frequent repair. Sallyport side door does not lock at all, causing facility security issues from the outside," it reads.

This also means that between the booking area and holding cells, there is only one locked door preventing escape.

There hasn't been an escape at this jail facility, but White said they've come close.

"We had a murder suspect who made it all the way to this door and tried to get out," he said.

The jail inspection report also routinely indicates derogatory marks because items are stored in the hallway due to inadequate storage, and items cannot fit through the doors, which are not ADA-compliant. This poses a hazard for ingress and egress in the event of an emergency.

White pointed to the sealer for inmate belongings, which has cut down on disease, odors and insect infestations such as lice and bedbugs.

"It won't fit through the door. We wanted it in here, but it won't fit through the door," White said.

The indoor rec room is empty. Snodgrass would like to get some limited stationary workout equipment, but it too won't fit through the door of the current facility.

The door between the indoor and outdoor rec spaces is also defective. While it doesn't pose the same security threat as the sallyport door, in order to shut and lock the door, it has to be lifted with a crowbar.

When entering one of the pods, White pointed out the boot marks on the door leading into the pod.

"This is from them having to kick the door repeatedly to get the door to function," White said.

Miller said there are doors that haven't worked properly since he started working in the jail in 2004.

Cracks run along the edge where the floor and the wall meet as the two separate, and the jail sinks down. This causes insect problems as well.

"The inmates will take toilet paper, roll it up, get it wet and stuff those holes to keep the ants from coming up because since it's sinking, it has access to bugs," White said.

He also said that they have been fortunate because the current design provides bars up above the cell door, which are all possible ligature points and are off camera from what jail staff can see without entering the pod.

Aside from the high step both in and out of the shower, which the department said has led to inmates falling, the floor of the shower is rusted out, with a white liner added in as an attempt to avoid replacing it, which is pricey.

One of the questions on the jail inspection report asks if plumbing fixtures are repaired promptly.

"Yes, however, as mentioned in last year's inspection report, because of the age of the facility, plumbing issues continue to plague operations as the plumbing fixtures continue to deteriorate, causing operational interference," it reads.

What's worse is that, according to county commissioner Sam Hobbs, the county will be unable to insure the building next year unless they have started working on a new facility.

The county also risks being sued due to the conditions of the jail and the need to preserve constitutional rights.

"The vast majority of people in that facility are not convicted; they're pretrial; they're presumed innocent, and they are not criminals at this point," Miller said. "And even if they are, they still have constitutional rights and the basic conditions that we have to provide for them that we have no choice in that matter."

Eliminating blind entries

One of the important aspects of a new jail is safety, both for staff and inmates.

In the new design, the jail officer at the command center can see inside of every cell in every pod without relying upon a camera or a small window into the pod.

"Each cell, unlike now, each one of these cells also will have cameras in them. So all your shenanigans happen inside the cell, because we can't see in the cell," White said.

Currently, inmates have the ability to use paper to block the window and throw wet toilet paper at the camera to block that view.

"This creates a safe environment, one for the inmates, because if there's a fight, we can see it," White said of the new facility. "Whereas now we have no idea until we go back and review footage… Plus if we have to make entry, we don't know what we're entering. We have no idea; we can't see."

White said it is impossible to change that in the current facility.

Miller said this means officers have to enter the block blind.

"You have no idea what's on the other side of it," he said. "Not only is that an issue for the staff, it's an issue for the inmates because when they do that, it prolongs our entrance into that block to stop whatever may be happening in there."

When that happens, a road officer has to be dispatched to the jail. That officer could be in one of the far-flung parts of the county, requiring 20 minutes or more just to get to the facility.

In addition, the design of the booking desk in the current facility poses a risk to the jail officer booking them, as they can simply walk around the desk.

"When I worked in here, we had one jail officer that was on the floor and almost handcuffed with their own handcuffs before the other officer heard him yell and was able to get around here and get to him, so it does happen," Miller said.

The new facility eliminates that risk.

"This jail is so much more secure than that one. It meets all ADA standards. The safety for our officers and the inmates is absolutely amazing," White said.

Future-proofing the facility

As the project becomes a reality, Snodgrass and White stressed the importance of building for the future. There's a balance between setting the facility up to be used for the full 70 years and trimming costs.

Snodgrass worked in the previous jail, before the current one was built.

"In my opinion, you always want to build for the future in something that's this expensive, that's going to be around that long, not for what works for today; it needs to be bigger than what you need today," he said.

Snodgrass said that when the current jail opened in 1988, it featured 36 beds. It quickly became too small and was expanded to 72 beds by adding extra beds in the cells. This had more wear and tear on the infrastructure.

White said that the 112-bed facility is essential to the future because it has parts that cannot be expanded upon later should the county ever need another pod added on to the facility. The idea of the need for a second pod isn't far-fetched.

White and Hobbs, who was sheriff for two terms before White, said that the maximum that the current jail has had in the last decade was 104 inmates.

Prior to COVID, the jail averaged between 70 and 80 inmates on any given day.

With the pandemic came changes to pre-sentencing guidelines and the ability to release those who are accused on their own recognizance, and that has meant that the average population is between 40 and 60.

"To be honest with you right now, if we were to go out and serve every warrant that is active in the county right now, we'd fill this thing up double," Miller said. "That's just kind of how it goes."

In addition, the legislative changes could mean that the Level 5 felons are eventually housed at the local level, not just Level 6 felons and those with misdemeanor charges.

White pointed to the potential loss for Circuit Court II, which was nearly cut by the legislature this past year. He said that would cause a delay in the courts that would increase the inmate count as well.

The rec area for the new facility includes a toilet and a shower. This means, in a pinch due to a temporary increase in inmates, the new facility could house more inmates by putting portable beds called boats into the area.

Miller also explained that it's very rare that the current jail could hold 72 inmates and properly classify them.

"You have to understand that when you're talking about the population of inmates, a 72 bed count… that means physically we have a place for 72 people to lay their heads," Miller said. "According to jail standards and different statutes, we're required to classify inmates."

That requirement began in 2014 and requires that inmates be segregated not only between men and women but also by the type of crime. They are also required to house codefendants separately.

If the county were to build the 104-bed facility, it would lose adequate group holding and detox holding cells. White explained that these cannot be added on later, as they would require tearing down the sallyport, expanding the secure part of the jail and then rebuilding the sallyport.

"You can't go back. Once it's done, it's done, and you lose that forever," White said.

White also addressed why the site of the current jail isn't adequate for a new jail. There are power line easements that would have to be relocated and three residences that would have to be purchased, in addition to the logistics and cost of housing Owen County's inmates elsewhere for at least 18 months while the jail is being built. It also means the county could never add another pod on, if needed.

"We shoot ourselves in the foot in the future," White said.

There is a joint meeting of the county council and the county commissioners at 5 p.m. July 13. Details on the considerations, comments and concerns from the county council as well as coverage of the jail committee meeting that took place last week can be found on the Owen News' website, theowennews.org.

"The song and dance is over," Hobbs said. "We have to move forward because we don't want to waste any more money."