Advisory board says design process for new Lorain County Jail will continue

ELYRIA — The Lorain County Jail Advisory Board has given architects and consultants another seven to eight weeks to make changes to the proposed design and budget for a new Lorain County Jail. Board members on Friday discussed the pros and cons of two different designs, called "linear" and "wagon wheel," but made no final decision. They asked DLZ Architecture, Granger Construction and Hills Corrections Consulting to take four to five weeks to get together on a new design and another three to four weeks after that to work out a new proposed budget. Cost estimates are currently around $116 million for the linear model and $141 million for the wagon wheel. Those costs will only keep rising as the cost of materials and transportation go up, officials said. Commissioner Jeff Riddell, a board member, said he considers design "more important than the number" of dollars it costs when it comes to the safety of jail staff and inmates. Still, "I'd like to see us come together and get comfortable with a number" that allowed for optimal safety "and the best cost to the taxpayer," he told the board. Future operational costs are "as important as construction cost," Riddell said. Sheriff Jack Hall said there are new state jail standards to consider, as well as more female inmates and inmates with special mental health, addiction or other needs coming into the jail. That means a need for more "specialty" beds and special housing unit, or SHU beds for high-risk or high-security inmates, he said. Commissioners set aside $20 million in 2022 for the design process. They have not decided how the county will pay for the new jail, but a property tax levy or sales tax increase are the two most likely options. The new jail would be built west of the current 422-bed jail on Murray Ridge Road in Elyria. The current jail is more than 50 years old and two consulting firms have recommended replacing it. Eric Ratts of DLZ Architecture said the new jail should last 40 to 50 years. Hall, Riddell, Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook, Probate Judge James Walther, Clerk of Courts Tom Orlando and county commissioners Marty Gallagher and David Moore are on the board. Gallagher and Moore were excused from Friday's meeting for family reasons. Walther, the chairman of the board, said its next meeting would be in early July. 'Like a wagon wheel' The board reviewed two proposed designs on Friday, but chose neither. The "linear" design, which is most similar to the current jail, is a one-story, rectangular facility measuring approximately 124,000 square feet with 432 inmate beds. The "wagon wheel" design would be a nearly 160,000-square-foot facility with 540 beds, including 64 SHU beds. More formally called "indirect podular," it features an elevated central control room and 1½-story mezzanine with walls radiating out from the center, like the spokes of a wheel, overlooking cells and common areas, called "day rooms," for inmates. It would cost an estimated $141 million. Hall said he prefers the "wagon wheel" design, even though it would cost more to build and staff, because it would improve security and oversight of inmates. If the two designs are close enough in cost, Cook said he'd "go with the sheriff" and his preference. Ratts, who addressed the board via videoconference call, said it wouldn't be more expensive to add onto the wagon wheel design if more space was needed in the future. "We do it all the time," he said. Riddell said he was concerned the triangular-shaped day rooms in the wagon wheel design meant more "inefficient" space. One rule in construction is "the more walls you build, the more expensive it will be," he said. More floors or levels also means a higher cost, and stairs create safety, security and medical care problems for inmates and staff, officials said. Hills bills The board on Friday also discussed whether to keep Hills Corrections Consulting on the project. Hall had questioned the $9,500 per month cost of the firm, hired to assist in the jail design process. Hall said he and his staff respected the firm and its owner, Norm Hills, but questioned the monthly costs and seeks to have them reviewed. Riddell and other officials said Hills was valuable to the process, and Ratts agreed. "I think there's a value added" having Hills on the project, he told the board. Board members also discussed whether they were able to overrule commissioners' decisions to hire the firm or sign contracts as "we're not here to micro-manage," Cook said. A few wall repairs The board also voted to authorize commissioners to hire Williams Brothers Builders of Elyria for an estimated $85,000 repair project on the east side of the county Justice Center on Court Street in downtown Elyria. The company previously made similar repairs to the west side of the building and knows what the work will require, board members said. State law says projects must go out to competitive bid if the work will cost more than $75,000, but county Prosecutor Tony Cillo said Williams Brothers' "specialized knowledge" of the work overrides that requirement. Cillo and Walther said moisture was getting into the third floor of the building, which houses Cillo's offices. Cillo said he had to close three individual offices before leaks caused mold to form. "I'm not gonna have people get sick," he said. The advisory board met for the first time in March after Cillo issued a legal opinion saying state law required it. The board must approve expenses for construction or repairs to county courthouse or jail facilities greater than $75,000. It gave retroactive approval to the commissioners' prior expenditures on the project at a meeting in early April. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.