Commissioners begin plan for new jail supported by consultants

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners took another step toward replacing the aging Lorain County Jail on Friday after two consulting firms recommended a new jail be built to replace the existing, aging facility on Murray Ridge Road in Elyria. "This is not going to be rushed," Commissioner David Moore said Friday, discussing the project. "This is not going to be kicked down the road. We'll deal with it this year, discussing how we're going to pay for it, how it's going to be financed and we're going to be discussing the size and scope." "I think the taxpayers would love to have a seat at the table on this one. It's going to be an interesting 12 months," he said. Commissioner Jeff Riddell said there are "a lot of varied opinions about what a jail is and jail isn't." "For most taxpayers, they haven't been to the jail and they don't know what it looks like and how it's supposed to run, so we're going to have to help them understand for the quality of life in Lorain County, we need to be moving (toward) an appropriate new jail," he said. Both consulting firms — Hills Corrections Consulting of Ashland and CGL Cos. of Miami — recommended in reports to the county that a new jail be built. Hills recommended Lorain County build a jail with between 400 and 425 beds, including 42 maximum security beds. A 400-bed jail totaling 152,000 square feet of space at an estimated cost per square foot of just over $447 would cost the county $63.1 million, Hills estimated in a report it submitted to the county, a copy of which was obtained by The Chronicle-Telegram. A 425-bed jail totaling 161,500 square feet of space at $447 per square foot would be $72.36 million, according to the consulting firm. In a draft report, a copy of which also was reviewed by The Chronicle, CGL offered three options: Keep the existing jail, which would set the county back an estimated $85 million in deferred maintenance costs."This outcome requires continuation of a highly inefficient and costly operational system," CGL wrote in its draft report. Build a new jail and sheriff's office headquarters at an estimated cost of $135 million to $179 million."The design and construction of a new facility is the costliest option upfront in capital expenses," CGL wrote. "Recurring operational costs have a high potential to find savings due to operational efficiencies with better sight lines, improved service adjacencies, and minimizing the on-going, yet growing deferred maintenance costs."Benefits of this plan include supporting the sheriff's office's needs past 2045 and improving mental health services for inmates, according to the draft report. Renovate and expand the existing jail for $43 million in estimated deferred maintenance costs, $62 million to $85 million in new construction, and an estimated $20 million in operational costs.That option "is still costly and comes with additional costs not observed in either of the two other options — operational cost increases," according to CGL, and involves demolishing several housing units, adding them back while including special needs and infirmary beds, a new laundry and kitchen, and renovating for administrative space. The board first hired Hills Corrections Consulting in June 2021 to evaluate the building. The firm was again hired last month to "assist the county in the selection process as part of any selection committee of the County's architects, engineers, construction managers and other service providers for the new Lorain County Jail project," according to a copy of the agreement. Reports identify extensive problems The oldest portion of the jail is from 1977, while the newest is a 1998 addition. Among the problems with the facility are the flat roof, which invites leaks; aging heating and cooling systems; failing showers and drains; and an out-of-code fire suppression system in the oldest part of the jail. Hills' initial study involved tours of the jail, interviews with county officials including judges, administrators, Lorain County Sheriff's Office personnel, union representatives and others, according to a report on its findings. The company "unequivocally recommended that Lorain County construct a new facility," according to copies of its reports to the board. The current jail doesn't have enough high-security cells. Its 37 roof-mounted HVAC units are inefficient. "The cost of retrofitting the existing fire suppression system in the original portion of the jail to bring it up to code would be an astronomical cost," Hills wrote in its most recent report to the board. The current building layout is inefficient. There is "limited and restricted space" for medical staff made worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. Windows, doors and locks need to be replaced. To to do so in the current jail "would be cost-prohibitive," according to Hills' report. "Whether the county spent $200,000 or $20 million in renovation costs, the existing jail would still not meet minimum jail standards" in Ohio, Hills wrote, "because of the inherent design flaws." There are multiple control rooms, which is inefficient, according to the report, and a new jail could help save money on staffing and operational costs. There are approximately 100 corrections officers, jail supervisors and administrators, and "a new jail will allow a significant number of upper management personnel to be reassigned as their services will no longer be necessary for the day-to-day operation of the jail," Hills' report states. Hills had identified those same issues in 2021 while criticizing the jail's exterior fences; buckets used for collecting leaking water; rusted doors with difficult-to-operate locks; improper medical waste storage; a lack of proper medical or isolation cells for inmates with contagious or communicable diseases; and the need to reconfigure staffing levels and inmate oversight. CGL, which was hired by the board in August, "affirmed all of (Hills') observations and recommendations," Hills wrote. CGL analyzed the average daily population of the jail, which was 312 inmates in 2022. The highest number was 364 on a single day in 2022 in a jail with a 422-bed capacity, according to the consultants. Between 2016 and 2022, the average daily population of the jail fell as did the average length of an inmate's stay in the jail, according to Hills and CGL. That trend is expected to continue, the consultants said. Hills and CGL disagreed on the size of a new jail, with CGL recommending 158 maximum security cells in a new facility it proposed to have 527 beds. High-security cells are both more expensive to build and require more monitoring by jail staff, according to Hills. "By comparison, a survey of various correctional institutions in Northeast Ohio shows this recommendation to be excessive," Hills wrote. "CGL offers no rationale for why Lorain County needs 300 percent more maximum security cells than Grafton Correctional Institution which houses over 1,200 more inmates." CGL toured the Lorain County Jail in December, according to its draft report. It identified all or most of the same problems with the facility that Hills did, as well as mold, electrical and plumbing issues, lack of storage, the need to repave the parking lot, and the unavailability of spare parts for existing security doors and locks. CGL's draft report likewise mentioned a lack of Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility in the jail; inadequate housing for high-risk female inmates or those with special needs; lack of appropriate bed space; "challenging" sight lines for staff to oversee inmates in all housing units; inadequate outdoor recreation space; operational inefficiencies in the design of the original building; security hazards; "multiple and significant deferred maintenance items"; and more. CGL also identified the need for more workspace, office space, conference space and "expansion to accommodate the growing needs and technological advancements of the sheriff's office" on the law enforcement and administrative side of the building, according to its draft report. "A new facility offers opportunities for the Sheriff's Office to engage in better recruitment options to fill staff vacancies, find operational efficiencies to reduce annual recurring costs, minimize annual maintenance fees, and avoid unnecessary risk and litigation," CGL wrote in its draft report. Commissioners' action Friday Commissioners on Friday unanimously authorized County Administrator Jeff Armbruster to put out a request for qualifications, or RFQ, for architectural, engineering and related services on June 16 for the potential replacement of the jail. Following Friday's vote, a committee will be formed to review the RFQs received by the county, Deputy County Administrator Karen Perkins told the board. County officials said they are working on picking members for the review committee. "Today's meeting discussed some of the complexities involved with undertaking this project," Commissioner Michelle Hung said Friday. "The board is releasing the findings quickly, as done earlier in the week" by Hills, she wrote in a text message. Dave Edwards, union director for corrections officers at the jail, has said it will be most important for the county to consider the input of corrections officers. Those working in the jail should have the most say when it comes to a new jail" in collaboration with the consulting firms, he wrote in a May 20 email. "We will be the ones there daily. Not the suits designing or planning how our jail (will) be run." In response, Riddell wrote that those having the "most say" on safety concerns within the jail "will be staff." "On cost and operating budget it will be the taxpayers," he wrote in his own email dated May 22. "We need to know and keep our cool and formulate a vision together that (we) take to taxpayers together." Unions urge use of local labor Another group that wants a seat at the table for discussions on the jail project is local union labor, particularly those local unions represented by the North Central Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council. During public comment periods at Friday's board meeting, longtime International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 729 member and executive Brian Baker asked commissioners to sit down with labor and discuss a project labor agreement, or PLA, that will ensure any future jail construction uses "local people for local jobs." Chuck Brooky, business manager for Laborers' International Union of North America Local 758 in Amherst, told the board there are 600 laborers in Lorain County who would love to work on the new jail. "If we had a PLA that would be a union contractor on the jail, they'd use our people from Lorain County," he said. A PLA, Hung said Friday, "is a vital and effective component to delivering a high quality, safe environment for our corrections staff, while controlling construction costs ensuring an efficient project completion for the taxpayers.""I support the PLA because it establishes fair wages and benefits for workers and their families who live in Lorain County," she wrote in a text message. "I look forward to discussing the future of the jail project and the PLA with leadership from our local labor unions." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.