GREENFIELD — Following months of back-and-forth discussions and disagreements between Hancock County’s two boards, the county council might have taken a big step forward in the years-long jail project.
The Hancock County Council on Wednesday agreed to work with the Hancock County Board of Commissioners to bond up to $8.5 million for a temporary jail, made up of modified semitrailers; and to start the process of designing a jail and sheriff’s department administration building that would cost up to $65 million and would be paid for with a mix of property taxes and income taxes.
Both facilities would be built on a piece of county-owned farmland, located along U.S. 40 between County Roads 400E and 500E.
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County officials have been talking about putting the much-needed new jail facility on that land, known commonly as the county farm, since June — a month after Hancock County voters shot down a referendum that would’ve paved the way for local leaders to increase in property taxes to pay for the construction of a $55 million downtown jail and improvements to other county building.
The new $65-million price tag does not include renovations to any other county buildings.
Some members of the county council didn’t want to risk a fight with the City of Greenfield to keep the jail downtown: Mayor Chuck Fewell and most of the Greenfield City Council publicly objected to a new downtown jail last month; and at the city council meeting Wednesday evening, the board didn’t agree to a resolution from the county commissioners that stated the city would cooperate with the county on a downtown jail.
Sheriff’s department leaders have for years been calling for a new jail to be built because the current facility at 123 E. Main St. is overcrowded.
The number of inmates in the 157-bed Hancock County Jail, which was built in 1988, has been growing since 2014 when state lawmakers voted to change the criminal code, forcing county jails to house those guilty of Level 6 felonies in order to free up space in Indiana Department of Correction prisons.
Around this time last year, the jail housed 190 people. Keith Oliver, the jail commander, said the current jail held 241 inmates on Wednesday — an increase of 27 percent from this time in 2017.
But with a new jail still being years away from implementation, the county has had to look at other options — “It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Commissioner John Jessup said to council members this week — and after a series of band-aid fixes, it’s looking to move forward with building a temporary facility to try to alleviate overpopulation.
A temporary solution
In late July, Maj. Brad Burkhart, the chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, told county officials he was in talks with the Seymour, Missouri-based All Detainment Solutions about bringing a structure consisting of 16 semitrailers to the parking lot between community corrections and the current jail. The facility was designed to house 113 inmates and cost $5.2 million.
The company, Burkhart said, also drafted a second option for the county’s consideration — a 21-semitrailer temporary structure that would cost $7.5 million and could house 146 inmates. That option, however, wouldn’t be able to fit downtown.
Councilman Jim Shelby said on Wednesday that he’s in favor of moving forward with the larger temporary structure so the jail could free up more space in its downtown location. He recommended putting the temporary jail at the county farm and estimated the county might have to spend an extra $1 million for installation of the structure, design costs, infrastructure and utilities.
Shelby proposed the county issue an $8.5 million bond to cover the costs of the temporary jail, which would be paid for with property taxes. County leaders had previously wanted to issue up to a $5 million bond for an inmate overflow facility, since that’s the highest amount a county can bond without it being subject to remonstrance.
The council approved the $8.5 million bond resolution 6-1, with only councilman Randy Sorrell voting against.
Now, the county commissioners have to decide whether to proceed and how.
The county has to issue the bond by Dec. 31 in order to receive the funding next year. County attorney Ray Richardson said if the commissioners issue only a $5 million property tax bond and choose to fund the extra $3.5 million through income taxes or another revenue source, they could avoid remonstrance.
If the county issues the full $8.5 million bond, Richardson said it would be pushed to a referendum in an upcoming election. The next countywide election is 2020; but the county could pay to join a municipal election next year, he said.
Martha Vail, councilwoman at large, said she’s not sure how to sell the public on an $8.5 million bond for a temporary jail when they voted last May against a $55 million permanent jail. She said the county needs to have a plan on how to use the semitrailers after the new jail is built.
Multiple county leaders said the structure could be used for recovery, mental health programs or as a homeless shelter once a permanent facility is open.
A permanent fix
The council also unanimously passed resolutions to hire 16 new jailers to staff the temporary jail; to support an up-to-$65-million jail and sheriff’s office at the county farm; and to appropriate $500,000 from the county’s rainy day fund for RQAW, an Indianapolis design firm, to complete the schematic design of the new permanent facility and handle engineering for the temporary unit.
Jessup told the council that in order to secure a majority vote from the board of commissioners for the off-campus temporary jail, they would have to agree to hire 16 new jailers for the temporary units and fund a jail and sheriff’s office at the county farm.
Oliver said the temporary jail needs 16 staff members, with four per shift, to manage 146 inmates. The current jail, averaging about 240 inmates as of late, has 28 full-time and three part-time jailers.
“Something is going to happen, I promise you. We had an officer get punched in the face last weekend,” Oliver said. “I hear from my staff on a regular basis … ‘nobody cares about us.’”
“… I have staff members who are ready to quit — good quality staff members who have been there six, seven, eight, 10 years,” he continued. “They’re like, ‘I’m done. We’re not getting any help. We can’t do this anymore.’ It’s not fair to the staff.”
Once a new jail is eventually built, the 16 new jailers will move to the permanent location, Oliver said.
Jessup, who works as a project superintendent, said from his experience in the construction field, he estimates a new jail, sheriff’s office and needed infrastructure and utilities should cost between $61 million and $62 million. If the council and commissioners don’t move forward with designing the facility on the county farm, he said the price would keep increasing with inflation.
The county has been looking into a jail that would last 20 to 30 years since 2010. Those talks intensified in 2015 when the jail population started quickly overcrowding.
“There’s been a number of us on both boards that have had our heels dug in; and it’s become apparent to me that when your heels are dug in, it’s very difficult to take a step backwards and reassess where we are and figure out how we can go forward,” Jessup said.
Councilman Kent Fisk reiterated the county’s intent to try and split the $65 million cost between raises in property and income taxes.
In order to raise property taxes, the county would most likely be a referendum similar to the one this past May, Richardson said. The county can put it on the ballot as soon as the 2020 election.
