GREENFIELD — Sparks flew during a meeting of the Hancock County Council that got heated at times when discussing the proposed jail project on Wednesday.
Faced with concerns about the city of Greenfield and Mayor Chuck Fewell objecting to the county building a jail inside city limits, the council passed a resolution asking the county commissioners to see what kind of jail they can get for $30 million on an area of land known as the county farm, located along U.S. 40 between county roads 400E and 500E.
For about a month, the plan was to build the new jail along Meek Street close to the current jail and community corrections. On Wednesday, the council decided the best course of action might be to move the proposed location to county-owned land rather than risk a potential fight with the city of Greenfield. Councilwoman Jeannine Gray made the motion instructing the commissioners to see what they can build for $30 million on the county farm. The council approved that motion 6-1 with Councilwoman Debbie Bledsoe voting against.
Prior to the motion, Commission President Brad Armstrong pleaded with the council to do something about the jail project. Since the failure of a referendum that would have allowed the county to pay for part of the project with a property tax increase, the county has been searching for a way forward.
“We need direction,” Armstrong told the council members. “Right now we’re on a sinking ship. We’re in crisis mode at the jail and right now the council has been very slow to react.”
Commissioner John Jessup also addressed the council and expressed his frustration of the lack of progress the council members were making.
“You guys are dragging your feet on this and you’re costing taxpayers more money,” Jessup said. “The cost of this construction project is only going to go up.”
Allocating income tax credits to pay for the jail is really the only option the council has at this time. A bill recently passed by the Indiana Generally Assembly allows a county to use some of its income tax for the construction of a justice system. But the question among the council members was how much should they take out via a bond and if it would be enough to pay for a new jail.
It was almost a chicken or the egg argument during the meeting, with council members wanting to know an exact amount for the new jail building and the commissioners needing to know how much they can spend before being able to submit a finalized plan. The fact that the failed referendum forced the county to scrap their original $55 million plan and narrow the scope has complicated matters.
“I don’t understand how you can design something if you don’t know where it’s going,” Councilwoman Martha Vail said. “I don’t want to spend any more money on this until we have a location.”
Armstrong told them that the reality of construction is the county can’t lock prices in until design reaches about 50 percent, which is when the county can start letting portions of the project out for bid. But, he added, having a price tag on what the council is willing to pay will help them.
Because the council decided on a new location for the jail, RQAW, the design firm hired by the county for the jail project, will have to do new studies on the county farm location to ensure it is suitable for construction. RQAW’s Pete Peterson said the new location could also change the building design because the jail size won’t be limited on space.
There was no immediate timetable on how long it will take for the commissioners and RQAW to come up with a feasible design on what a $30 million project would look like. The council will host another meeting on June 27 with the hope of getting an update. It’s also unclear if $30 million is enough for a suitable jail. Jessup said the estimate on the most recent jail building was about $41 million. There are also a large number of soft costs, expenses for non-construction items like inspections and design fees, that have to be accounted for in the price tag as well.
The council vote didn’t actually allocate any money, either. The vote simply directed the commissioners to see what they could get for $30 million. The county is building a new jail because of extreme overcrowding at the current jail. There haven’t been any established timelines but county officials think construction would take at least two years to complete.
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“We need direction. Right now we’re on a sinking ship. We’re in crisis mode at the jail and right now the council has been very slow to react.”
Hancock County Board of Commissioners President Brad Armstrong, on lack of progress on the county’s jail project
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