Posted 7:38 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Officials Unveil Scaled-Down Jail Facility For November Ballot
By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
A new jail bond proposal on the November ballot will ask Smith County voters to approve a $59.6 million plan for 694 new beds in a jail tower adjacent to the existing downtown facility. Administrative offices would be built next to the new tower.
In a Tuesday meeting with the Tyler Morning Telegraph’seditorial board, Smith County officials presented the new plan, which calls for keeping both existing jail facilities —downtown and Low Risk. The plan is less than half the cost of the $125 million bond package voters rejected in 2007.
The new plan was put together by a committee that included Bobby Curtis, a leader of the group that opposed the 2007 bond proposition.
“We’ve worked on this for seven months, and I think it’s a great plan,” Curtis said. “I think the taxpayers will pass this. It’s a bare-bones plan. I think these tax dollars are well-spent.”
State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, was also part of the committee that developed the plan.
“This is a common-sense approach that solves our jail problem,” Eltife said. “It’s looking to the future; we’re building only what we need now, but we have the ability to build another tower when needed. I think it’s very smart long-term planning.”
Sheriff J.B. Smith could not be at the editorial board meeting because of a prior commitment, but said by phone he’s “in full support” of the plan.
“I’m excited about this one,” Smith said. “It gives me over 1,400 beds, which is what I originally wanted. I like the design and the flow. It has the kitchen and laundry we’ll need, and it will save us tens of thousands of dollars in the future because it has a good infirmary.”
And he’s more optimistic about the proposal’s prospects at the polls.
“I think the public will embrace this plan,” he said.
THE NUMBERS
The plan calls for keeping 708 existing jail beds, at both the downtown jail and the Low Risk facility near the northwest corner of Loop 323. The jail tower would include 694 new beds, for a total of 1,402.
The bonds would be paid through an increase in the county’s property tax rate. According to figures from the First Southwest Company, the bond package would add 2.375 cents to the county’s current tax rate of 28.8940 cents per $100 in property valuation. That’s an increase of about 8.2 percent.
The average home in Smith County is valued at $131,899. The tax bill for such a home would increase by $31.33 per year, from $381.11 to $412.44.
The county’s long-range planning consultants say the new plan should meet Smith County’s needs through 2022, according to Commissioner JoAnn Fleming.
“It’s a common sense, no-frills plan,” she said. “And this plan isn’t going to change. The $59.6 million is the bottom line here. And we’re going to do everything we can to bring this in on time and under budget.”
THE NEED
Smith County has been under a remedial order from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards since May 13, 2004, for overcrowding. That order limits the jail population in all Smith County facilities to 756 — and fewer than that, in practical terms, because of rules about classifying inmates. That means excess prisoners must be sent to other counties, at an average cost to Smith County of $40 per prisoner, per day.
So far this budget year, the county has spent about $2.4 million shipping prisoners, the sheriff’s department says. On any given day, as many as 200 Smith County inmates are being housed elsewhere.
“We’ll be able to bring those prisoners back here,” Commissioner Fleming said.
THE NEED
THE TOWER
The plan calls for a nine-story jail tower behind the existing city of Tyler fire station on Elm Street, one block east of Broadway Avenue. From the street, the tower will appear about as large as an 11-story building. Committee members say the tower will “blend in” with downtown designs.
The plan calls for a nine-story jail tower behind the existing city of Tyler fire station on Elm Street, one block east of Broadway Avenue. From the street, the tower will appear about as large as an 11-story building. Committee members say the tower will “blend in” with downtown designs.
“This layout is very appropriate for downtown,” said jail architect Curt Parde. “We can make it look nice and fit in.”
The tower will include a 42-bed infirmary and clinic area — something the county hasn’t had before.
“Currently, the sheriff has to take someone who needs medical care to a hospital, and post someone there to guard them,” Parde said. “This will be much more efficient.”
VIDEO VISITATION
A very visible change in how the county handles inmates now will be the new “video visitation” system, officials say. Instead of the families of inmates lining up around the jail entrance downtown, as they do now, visitation will be handled through video linkups at a new building, to be erected at the Low Risk facility site.
“All visitation will be done out there,” Parde said. “You’ll have a monitor and a phone. It’s a very good way to cut back on operation costs — you don’t have to move inmates to the visitation cells, since they stay in their housing units. And it cuts down on contraband coming into the jail.”
THE POLITICS
Smith County voters turned down jail bond packages in 2006 and 2007. Committee members say they know they have a big task ahead — convincing the public that this plan is different.
“The majority of citizens of Smith County would agree we need a jail,” Eltife said. “The question has been how much we’ll spend and whether it’s a common-sense approach. I think that’s why they turned it down last time. The public deserves to know every detail of this plan. If we do our job of explaining it to them, I think they’ll approve it.”
The committee will begin by presenting the plan to some city leaders on Friday, and then formally present it to the Commissioners Court on Aug. 6.
