Acceleration of New Jail Facilities in Tom Green County, Texas is in Negotiation
Behind Tom Green County Jail northeast of San Angelo, Texas, located at 3262 U.S. 277 N., is a construction project for a new jail facility. Originally, the old and new jail facilities were to operate concurrently; and the new jail was to expand in the future. As of December 19, 2017, however, Phase 2 of the construction plan is now in negotiations to be built at the same time as Phase 1. The Commissioners Court made this decision in a unanimous vote, and there are several factors which led to the change in plan.
A major consideration is the burdensome cost of operating two separate jail facilities at the same time. Each jail would have to remain compliant with minimum jail standards, separate and apart from the other. One of the complications is that there must be a separate medical team for each, and there is already a challenge meeting medical staffing requirements.
Food services would also have to be handled separately because of a law that food cannot be prepared in one location and transferred to a separate facility. More kitchen employees would be required to operate two independent kitchens.
Construction costs will be lower by building Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the new jail at the same time. For instance, instead of a plumbing team getting the work done on one and then having to be paid on a separate occasion to do the work for the second phase, all work can be done as one project. The window of time in which this benefit can be realized is brief, since Phase 1 of construction is already underway.
The logistics of a courthouse remodel in Tom Green County are also being considered. The idea is to move all inmates and staff out of the current jail once the new jail is built. Then the vacated jail could be used for the court system while the 1928 courthouse structure is being renovated.
The jail has stayed in compliance with minimum jail standards since at least February 2014, according to Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Woods. The jail did have help, however, technical help in that it was given time to correct some things before being cited. Woods said older jails frequently have difficulty keeping up with preventative maintenance.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh