Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors directed further work to correct a nexus study for a new county jail, hearing that it could cost between $40.7 million and $58 million to build, but they also learned that as a small county, Amador would only need to match the grant at 5%, instead of 25% asked of larger counties.
General Services Administrator John Hopkins and Sheriff Martin Ryan gave an update on jail needs, based on a 2007 jail master plan and nexus, which need more changes. Ryan said the Amador County Sheriff’s Office will likely outgrow its administrative offices, and he would like to include 20 acres of the 200-acre Wicklow Way jail master plan to house new administrative offices.
Hopkins said he was not sure if the nexus included administrative offices. It did contain 165 beds, but the size was changed to meet legal requirements. Hopkins said the jail master plan had 50 square feet per inmate, but 70 square feet per inmate is required. The changes increased the jail square footage by nearly 2,000, to 62,600 square feet.
Ryan said the 76-bed County Jail now has 56 inmates, and “I don’t have a good explanation why.” He said “last year we were spiking at somewhere around 105 inmates per day.” He said Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of an inmate’s jail overcrowding lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation means that 44 inmates would be released here in Amador County.
Ryan said he testified before the federal court last year about the impact it would have on small counties, and he said having 44 seasoned inmates and hardened thieves “would inundate” his detectives.
Supervisor Richard Forster asked about CDCR requirements to keep jail staffs large enough to handle a full facility, even if it held fewer than capacity. Ryan said “the sheriffs collectively thought that was idiotic.” Hopkins said they met with their corrections representative, who said sheriffs should be able to determine safe staffing level and jails should be “staffed to what is absolutely necessary.”
Ryan said he would like to do what other county jails are doing, which is rent the jail to federal agencies, so they can “fill it with paying customers.”
Forster suggested that the nexus and plan justify the use of 20 acres as admin space, and Supervisor Chairman John Plasse asked that they give the long-range use plan for the 20 acres, if it was allowed by the nexus. The board approved direction 5-0, and gave consensus to Supervisor Louis Boitano’s request that the Admin Committee talk about surplus sites, including the old courthouse, which was becoming blighted, and the future of the current jail.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
