County to Consider Building New Jail

Fayette County Commissioners discussed building a new justice center at their meeting last Thursday. The facility would include a larger new jail, Sheriff’s Office and 911 dispatch center, district courtroom and offices for the district judge and district clerk. The price tag would almost certainly be in the tens of millions of dollars. Commissioners recently hired the firm Burns Architects to inspect the jail and provide recommendations for expansion. The County Jail routinely runs out of space for female prisoners. In addition, Burns inspected the jail’s electronic lock system for future improvements.

County Judge Joe Weber said the State Jail Commission inspected the jail a few years ago.

“They said we’re probably good until 2035, but there are some things we need to look at,” Weber said. “We got Burns in here to look at it, and he looked at what we need to do to expand in the back, get some female jail space. He looked at the electronic locking system.”

Weber said Burns estimated the cost of an expansion project at $4.6 million.’

“How much do we want to invest in a jail that will last us to 2035?” Weber asked. “Or do we want to look at other options?”

District Judge Jeff Stein- hauser said Fayette County’s historic district courtroom does not accommodate the technological demands of modern trials.

“I love the courthouse,” Steinhauser said. “It’s beautiful, but it’s really not functional anymore.”

In addition, Steinhauser said the courthouse doesn’t have enough restrooms to accommodate all the people in the building on busy court days. “At a minimum, I think we need an annex to the jail with a modernized, large courtroom for jury trials,” Steinhauser said.

Steinhauser said locating the district courtroom near to the jail will help alleviate security concerns with transporting prisoners to court. Moreover, Steinhauser said the number of cases he sees is rising. He presented the following numbers of felony indictments for the past few years: 2017 - 199 2018 - 214 2019 - 179 2020 - 157 (down due to COVID) 2021 - 223 2022 - 347 so far, with three more grand jury sessions left in the year. “That’s just felony cases, not counting misdemeanors and civil cases,” Steinhauser said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but do any of us think it’s going to get better? I think in reality, it’s not. So as part of your consideration, we’ve got to consider doing something for more modern, expanded district court, whether that’s part of an annex or a big new justice center. “I’m a taxpayer,” Steinhauser added. “I don’t want to stand here and say, ‘Please raise my taxes.’ I’m building a new house, and here I am talking about possibly raising my taxes. But if we don’t do something, I think its going to cost us more in the long run.” The County rented the La Grange KC Hall told hold several trials during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to provide social distancing. Steinhauser and District Attorney Peggy Supak both said the KC Hall accommodate the trials better than the old district courtroom. Weber presented four options for dealing with the jail and district court:

• Do nothing.

• Expand the jail according to the $4.6 million proposal from Burns Architects.

• Expand the jail and build an adjoining district court annex.

• Build a new justice center incorporating the jail, Sheriff’s Office, district courtroom and associated offices.

“The tendency is to kick the can down the road, but I think the point has been made here that we cannot do that,” Weber said. “We have to be decisive pretty soon about what we’re going to do.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff said he doesn’t think there is enough room for parking at the current jail property if the County were to add a district court annex. Steinhauser said the court typically calls 100 or more potential jurors for jury trials.

“We need adequate parking, that’s a good point,” Steinhauser said.

Sheriff Keith Korenek recommended building a new justice center like the one that Austin County recently opened in Bellville. The district court in Austin County is located in a new facility built on the same property as the Austin County Jail. Austin County moved many of its County offices into the new facility. The old Austin County Courthouse now houses the County Judge’s Office, Adult Probation, and a few other administrative offices.

Weber said the County would likely need to find a new piece of property if Commissioners decide to build a new justice center.

The County recently purchased and remodeled the old Pioneer Bank Building on Main Street in La Grange to serve as a Courthouse Annex. The County Auditor’s Office has already moved into the annex. The Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office will move out of the courthouse and into the annex after the first of the year.

Plum resident and former County Judge candidate William Bernsen asked what the County will do with the extra space in the Courthouse if the district court and associated offices move to a new location.

“We will fill it with something,” Weber said. “This is a historic building, and we have signed on to keeping it a historic building. We’re going to have to put money into it to keep it up. We don’t have a choice, unless it turns into something like the old jail and we turn it into a museum. But we’re not going to do that. We’re going to have some offices in here.”

Weber said County Court, Juvenile Court and Probate Court could continue using the old courtroom.

“If we do this, it will take at least five years,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom. “First, you have to come up with a plan. Then you have to acquire property. Then you have to design it. It will take two years to build it. So anything you do is five years out.”

McBroom said the County needs to develop of list of needs from all the offices that would occupy a new justice center.

“I think the agreement here is we need to move forward with a new justice center,” Weber said. “Let’s start by forming a committee to find out what our requirements and needs are.”

Berckenhoff asked how the County will pay for such a project that will cost tens of millions of dollars. Weber said the County would likely ask voters to approve a bond to pay for the facility.

“If you just put it up for election, it ain’t going to win,” McBroom said. “You’re going to have to sell it to the public.”

Weber said Burns Architects quoted the County $900 a square foot for building a jail. He said a new justice center could cost $40 million.

Commissioners voted to form a committee to investigate a new justice center. The Commissioners set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2023 to select the members of the committee, which will include representatives from the offices of the Sheriff, District Judge, District Attorney and District Clerk.

In related news, Commissioners met with the Courthouse Security Committee in closed session on Thursday to discuss security improvements to the Fayette County Courthouse. Upon returning to open session, Commissioners voted unanimously to approve $65,000 in purchases for courthouse security. The purchases include metal detectors, cameras and other security equipment.