With the grand
jury’s encouragement, Napa County’s funding strategy to replace an aging,
overcrowded downtown jail might at some point include asking voters to pass a
bond.
The county Board of
Supervisors isn’t ready to go this route yet. But, during a Monday budget
hearing, supervisors briefly broached the idea of a bond measure for a new
jail.
If they give the
issue a good, hard look, they’ll be following the Napa County grand jury’s
advice.
A new grand jury
report describes a downtown jail damaged by the Aug. 24 earthquake. It looks at
challenges there, such as trying to adapt the building to the state’s move to
house some felons in county jails as opposed to state prisons.
“The current jail
was problematic even before the earthquake, but now the urgency for a new,
larger and more modern correctional facility has risen to a higher level,” the
report said.
Supervisors should
consider by June 30, 2016 a bond measure to pay for a portion of new jail
construction costs, the grand jury recommended.
In 2014, Napa County
bought 27 acres for a new, 366-bed jail near the Syar quarry along Highway 221.
With construction cost estimates as high as $150 million, the county plans to
build the jail in phases.
The county plans to
initially build a $66 million, 96-bed jail by late 2020 that it can later
expand. It will apply this summer for $20 million through the state’s
jail-building program. It plans to get the remaining $46 million from savings,
the sale of surplus county property and other sources.
But the $20 million
from the state isn’t in the bank, not with other counties also seeking a
limited amount of state dollars.
“I want to stress,
this is a highly competitive process,” county Principal Management Analyst Liz
Habkirk told supervisors.
Should the county
build and open phase one of the new jail, it would still need to operate the
downtown jail. The new jail at that point wouldn’t be big enough to house all
of the inmates.
This would entail
duplicating some positions needed at both jails, such as shift supervisors,
Habkirk said. The county could need another 50 to 60 jail staff members at a
cost of $5 million to $6 million annually.
Meanwhile, it would
still be spending money maintaining an aging downtown jail that has high upkeep
costs. These and other factors, such as today’s low interest rates, had
Supervisor Keith Caldwell considering a bond measure to build a new jail big
enough to dispense with the old jail.
“Putting money into
a facility built in 1978 and additional staffing – I think people get it,”
Caldwell said.
But county officials
said it is unlikely the county could borrow enough money without going to the
voters. A jail bond measure paid for by property taxes would have to receive
two-thirds of the vote to pass.
“I know it’s always
hard to sell a jail to the public and telling that story,” Supervisor Alfred
Pedroza said.
Supervisor Mark Luce
suggested an alternative. The county could look into having private enterprise
build the jail and then lease space back or pay a fee for jail services, he
said.
In its new report,
the grand jury makes the case for putting the new jail “on a fast track.”
The earthquake
lowered the downtown jail’s capacity from 264 inmates to 204. Napa County is
paying to house some of its inmates in the Solano County jail at a cost of $87
per inmate per day. The annual cost to the county could top $3 million, the
grand jury report said.
Assaults of
correctional officers at the downtown jail rose from four in 2011-12 to 31 in
2013-14. The grand jury sees a number of reasons for this, including the
state’s prison realignment program and jail overcrowding.
California launched
its realignment program in 2011. Some felons previously housed at state
prisons—those deemed guilty of non-violent, non-serious and non-sex
offenses—are now housed in county jails. The state took this step in part to
deal with its own prison overcrowding problems.
As a result, an
influx of “criminally sophisticated inmates” are bringing “state prison
attitudes and culture” to the county jail, the grand jury report said. Also,
county jails are holding some inmates longer than before realignment.
“Inmates with longer
stays have begun to conform to a pattern seen in prison where power is
concentrated with the prisoners, grouping themselves by race and gangs and
creating their own rules and punishments,” the report stated.
The downtown jail
deals with these issues by grouping inmates by classifications in common areas,
taking into consideration such factors as gang affiliations, the report said.
But jail overcrowding means some inmates can no longer go to common areas for
extended parts of the day because of clashes in classification.
“These restrictions
to cells due to overcrowding and classification status are not conducive to
safety or reduced recidivism,” the report said.
Other reasons for
the increase in correctional officer assaults is a rise in inmates sneaking
drugs and other contraband into the jail since realignment and the influx of
more mental health patients, the report stated.
A short-term step
recommended by the grand jury is to buy a body scanner to better search for
contraband hidden in body cavities. Jail officials say the booking area has no
room for a body scanner, the report said. The grand jury wants the jail to find
the room.
Even if the county
moves ahead to construct a new jail, the grand jury sees interim work that
needs to be done at the old jail.
Among other things,
the earthquake damaged the jail’s control room that can lock and unlock doors.
This communications center has poor video monitors and a location vulnerable in
a crisis, the report said. The grand jury called the control center “marginally
operational.”
Plans
to upgrade and move the control center have been delayed in the wake of the
earthquake. The grand jury wants the county to fund and implement the project
by January 2017. This is needed to safely manage access and control operations
at the old jail until a new jail is built, the report stated.
June 16, 2015
Napa
Valley Register
By
Barry Eberling
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