Advisory Board chooses $142.6 million, 540-bed design for new Lorain County Jail

ELYRIA — The Lorain County Jail Advisory Board chose a design Monday for what a new county jail will look like. The next step, elected officials said, is to sell the concept to voters who will be asked to pass a tax to pay for it — possibly as soon as November. The board selected a 540-bed, nearly 160,000-square-foot indirect podular remote supervision jail, also called the "wagon wheel" design for what it resembles on architectural drawings. The cost is an estimated $142.6 million, assuming construction starts in 2027 — and guaranteed to rise if it doesn't, officials said. Four other options provided to the board were smaller in size, with fewer beds. They all cost less, between $116 million and $141 million, but don't allow for better supervision or future expansion.Choosing one of the smaller options with fewer beds would mean building an inadequate jail, then doing it again in another 10 years, said Sheriff Jack Hall, who has been a proponent of the option chosen by the board. Commissioners, their consultants, the sheriff and the Jail Advisory Board are in agreement: The current jail, built in 1977 and last updated in the 1990s, is unsafe, crowded, costs too much for upkeep and must be replaced. The seven-member, bipartisan board is made up of Hall, Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook, Common Pleas Clerk Tom Orlando, Probate Judge James Walther and the three county commissioners — Marty Gallagher, David Moore and Jeff Riddell. Monday's vote was 6-0 to go with what was being called "Option 1." Gallagher was absent for the vote. It was up to the board to decide which of the five options presented by consultants and architects was the best going forward, Cook said. Walther, chairman of the board, said he wanted to make sure members were on the same page and had reached a consensus. Waiting until 2027 to make a decision "is a mistake," he said. County commissioners plan to hold a series of meetings over the next month to put the issue of financing to the public, Moore said. A special commissioners' meeting on the matter could be held as soon as Wednesday, he said. Moore said the county plans to pay for the new jail with a sales tax increase that includes a 10- or 15-year "sunset" provision. That means once 10 or 15 years are up, the sales tax increase would go away. Moore said commissioners would provide more details on that at a coming meeting. The deadline is Aug. 5 for the proposed sales tax increase to get on the November ballot. Riddell said he and his fellow commissioners were not in favor of imposing a tax to pay for construction. Not building a jail "is not an option," Riddell said. It's up to county officials to convince voters it's needed, he said. The cost of construction will keep rising an estimated 4 to 5 percent per year every year the county waits to start construction, officials and consultants said. If a sales tax passes in November, construction could start in spring 2027. Officials said if a proposed sales tax increase doesn't pass in November, it could be put back on the ballot in the 2027 general election. The current jail has 422 beds and is 50 years old with a host of architectural, design, health-and-safety and security problems. It doesn't have enough cells for high-risk or high-security inmates, sick inmates and the mentally ill. The drains overflow, the roof leaks, and the heating and cooling systems don't work properly. The technology and equipment is aging, though Hall said Monday that his staff is working to fix problems as they arise. Failing to do so could get the county in trouble with state officials, or result in lawsuits by inmates or staff. The current jail is not safe for inmates nor staff, officials and union members have said. DLZ Architecture, Granger Construction and Hills Corrections Consulting have been working with county officials on the design. The new jail will be built on county-owned property west of the existing jail. The benefits of indirect podular remote supervision include fewer staff needed to supervise a larger number of inmates, officials said. County officials said a new jail must have more beds than the current jail does, both to account for the county's increasing population and to ensure that the jail complies with state regulations and federal law. Architect Eric Ratts of DLZ Architecture said the new jail should be designed to last 40 to 50 years. The "wagon wheel" design can be added to or modified if more space is needed in the future, he said. The option chosen by the board is a "win-win" option, consultant Norm Hills said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.