• Jail Overcrowding Study Committee Update
• Review of the Charge of the Johnson County Overcrowding Study Committee
• Jail Financial Consultant Work Group
• Appointment of a Project Manager for Jail Project

Chairperson Stutsman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 3:33 p.m. Members of the Board of Supervisors present were: Charles Duffy, Jonathan Jordahl, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson. Jail Study Committee Members present were: C. Peter Hayek, Norman Osland, Robert Kemp, David Maupin, Joanne Stoner, Donna Volk, Marilyn Wright, Bob Simpson, and Martin Jones. County officials and staff also present were: County Sheriff Bob Carpenter, County Treasurer Tom Kriz, County Recorder Kim Painter, County Auditor Tom Slockett, County Attorney J. Patrick White, Johnson County Public Health Director Graham Dameron, Johnson County Facilities Manager Mike Scheer, Johnson County Jail Administrator Dave Wagner, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Lead Dispatcher Lori Phillips, Board Administrative Assistant Carol Peters, Board Deputy Administrative Assistant Deana Pillard, and Recording Secretary Casie Parkins.

Stutsman started by thanking everyone for coming. She said that the Board was impressed with the work that was done by the Jail Overcrowding Study Committee. She said the Board has quickly recognized that they need to continue the discussion about the Jail situation. She mentioned the letter from Rob Kampin, the chief Jail inspector, about his annual visit to the Jail.

Jail Overcrowding Study Committee Chair Pete Hayek said there is a lot of interest from the public on this issue. He said that this could have a serious financial impact on the County. Hayek said that Polk County’s Jail has about 150 inmates over capacity on a daily basis and it is costing them approximately 2.6 million dollars a year. County Sheriff Bob Carpenter said that he has had some concerns that arose from some news articles in the past few weeks. He said that a certain area of property had been mentioned for a location for the Jail. He said that he is also hearing from some County officials that the Jail should be kept near the Courthouse, even if they have to condemn some buildings. He suggested that it is too early to start discussing condemning property. He said they should educate the community as to what they need and why they need to do it for a new Jail.

Carpenter said his other concern stems from a comment made by the past Sheriff, who said that the current building was built with the possibility of being added on to. He said that was looked into and it was found not to be feasible. He said there are many things to be looked at before they make any decisions. Carpenter said he would like to clarify that the current Jail is not expandable. Neumann Monson AIA Project Architect Dwight Dobberstein said that they looked at the plans of the building, which don’t show that it is designed to be added onto. He said they also called the structural engineer, who said it was not designed to go up; however, he could double check.

Hayek said that the Committee strongly recommends that a new building should be suitable to handle expansion so that they are not here again in 19 years. Lehman said, when the Jail was built, it took 3 bond referendums and each time limitations where added. Hayek mentioned the Sycamore Mall proposal. He said the Committee could propose the facility would be able to support what was needed for a Jail. He said that facility could be built for several million dollars and then they would have to completely rebuild. Osland said any site is going to have problems. Such as people are not going to want a jail in their backyard and any site is going to have a thorough study made to make sure it is a feasible site. He said they do not want to have a lot of negative and conflicting stories running around and it is important that they get the right message to the public.

Hayek said they have discussed continuing as body for whatever use the Board sees fit. He said the Committee could also be a lot of help in educating the community about the ramifications of not doing something about the Jail, which is a safety and health issue. Hayek said they could also serve as a sounding board and anything else the Board would like. He said that it is important that the public understand what the down side is if a new Jail is not built. Simpson said that they are now at the position where it is necessary to engage the public. He said they should let the public come and provide some input. He said there is a lot of negation, which can be alleviated with some well-thought answers. Kemp said the groups that the Committee have met with so far are leadership groups, which are not typical of the negative attitude. He said the architect’s comments indicate there are areas the Committee doesn’t know about. He added they could address whatever issues the Board would want clarified. Simpson said that they have reached the conclusion that there is a need present and how they approach it is a concern to some members of the community.

Osland said the Board needs to act on getting a consultant so that the Committee has real numbers to work with and they can tell the public how much it is going to cost. Stoner said they should show the public how much it will cost to send prisoners out of the county and the added staff costs. She also said they need to show the public what the costs are going to be on a short and long term basis. Osland said that graphically showing the public that it will get more expensive every year is important. Stoner said they should also address legislation that concerns the amount of time that inmates are allowed to spend in a county jail. She said the public should be made aware that if an inmate can spend 2 years, opposed to one, it is going to cost the County a lot more. Marty Jones underscored that the Committee needs to hear from the Board what they want from the Committee. Stutsman said they were here to define the roles of the Committee and the Board.

Thompson asked if the Committee sees themselves involved in the design phase of the Jail. The Committee agreed that they could help with oversight, but there is someone far more qualified that would do it. Hayek said that if the jail is built right, they can really cut down on costs. He pointed to the staffing costs. He said they are also concerned with deputy safety and County liability in mixing serious felons with persons charged with OWI, for example. He said that classification has to be made an issue. Kemp said that jails are built for different types of people. He said that they have to plan accordingly for different types of offenders. Hayek said they need a consultant to tell them what needs to be done so that they address all of the issues appropriately. Dameron said the Jail Study Committee’s work is over and maybe that Committee should be reappointed to an oversight or steering Committee. He said the Committee is in another phase now. Stutsman said they need to define what the function of the Committee should be. Dameron said that he sees them as more of a steering Committee.

Dobberstein said the next step is site selection and that this Committee could be very helpful. He said they could look at the sites and do an evaluation. He said you can’t really design anything until you know where it will be. Stoner said that is something that the Committee did discuss in their meetings. She said that they came to the conclusion that they did not have the authority to do some of the things necessary to carry on. She said they need a consultant who can work with the group and provide needed information. She, speaking as just one member of the Committee, would be willing to work with a consultant on looking at sites. Hayek said they are not qualified to design a jail, however they would be happy to work as an oversight committee. Jones said there are a number of things that can happen in unison. He said selecting a site and designing a building could happen at once. Osland said the County needs to start working with a consultant. He said that by keeping the Committee involved it could help public relations because they are a Committee comprised of citizens. Stutsman said that they need to direct information so that they are not always responding to misinformation.

Hayek said that they do not necessarily need to build a 250-bed jail right now, if they find a site that has the ability to be expanded. He said that they could build a 150-bed site that will be expanded and thus spend less now.

Thompson discussed a new charge for the Committee: participate in site selection; provide public oversight during the design and construction phases; and assist in fostering community dialogue by providing community education, hosting public meetings, and serving as community sounding board during the decision process. Jordahl said that it is important that the Board have a role in the process, because they ultimately make the decision of what happens. Carpenter said the Committee has identified the needs for the Board and the next step is to give them a new charge. Hayek said that they need to provide the information to the public so that they can make a knowledgeable decision. He said that if the public says no, they need to know that the problem will not go away and in turn they will pay out huge amounts of money to other counties.

Hayek said they need to look at what the financing options are. Carpenter said he feels the Jail consultant did not finish the job the first time around. He said, at this point in time, they need to look for someone to complete the process. He said they did not get any figures on what it would take to facilitate a certain number of prisoners. Dobberstein said, if they were looking at a breakdown on the different housing types, the consultant needs more information. He noted that right now the prisoners aren’t classified for separation. Carpenter said they classify prisoners but they don’t record by the type of charge what cell block prisoners go into.

Osland said that they had the opportunity to listen to some other consultants and it was very educational. He said, if the consultant hired did what he was supposed to do, it wasn’t enough. Dobberstein said the consultant had a limited scope on what he was supposed to do and in his view he did what he was supposed to do. He said that the consultant did some things that were outside of the scope of his contract. He said the consultant would probably be willing to proceed further but he would want an extension on his contract and more money. He said the current consultant does not have all of the expertise to advise them on the construction document phase. Dobberstien said that it would be a good idea to get another consultant now. Thompson said the Board has a contract with Neumann Monson to assist with the development of the jail design. She said as a part of that agreement Neumann Monson will hire consultants as needed to assist them. Stoner said they need to give better directions on what they want, because staffing considerations have not been addressed in the first report. Thompson asked Dobberstein if another committee should be used to select another consultant. Dobberstein said that worked well. Carpenter said the person selected required much less funding than other consultants. Stutsman said they should make it clear as to what they want from a jail consultant.

Hayek added classification as an issue in addition to the staffing issue. Wright said the projection of how many prisoners there are going to be is based on history as opposed to what might be occuring. Someone else said there are 3 main issues that have to be looked at. He said first what is the jail population going to be 19 years from now, second is how should the jail be designed, and third how are they going to finance a new jail. He said they should also make a timeline because they are working against a deadline. He said they should ask Carpenter for a drop dead date so that they can finish things before it is too late. Carpenter said they probably have a year before they have to start shipping prisoners, possibly more than 30, to another jail at a cost of $65 a day per prisoner, plus transportation. Stutsman said that the first thing that they need to do is to get a jail consultant on board. There was a consensus that the Board should be involved in finding a jail consultant.

Jordahl said the same consultant who would advise on design might also have expertise on financing. Stutsman said they would probably be 2 separate people. Carpenter said the person who knows how to build them would normally know how they are financed. Dobberstein said they would probably be 2 different people who work together. Slockett said the County needs a financial manager. He said one of the first things that they could address is the jail issue. He said the County has many capital projects that could use the expertise of a financial adviser. Stutsman asked who is on the Jail Finance Committee. Kriz reported the Committee consists of Hayek, Slockett, Carpenter, himself, Thompson, and Dobberstein. Stutsman said the Board should take formal action to direct Dobberstein to begin the process of hiring a consultant. She asked if this joint group should meet on a regular basis. Hayek suggested meeting on an as-needed basis for direction from the Board.

Stutsman said there seems to be a need for a point person to lead the jail project. Dameron said that they need someone, however project manager may not be the right term. He said that it seems that the Committee needs someone to help keep them focused. Carpenter said he does not want to stop meeting with the Jail Committee. He said he feels that a project manager should continue to meet with the Committee all the way through the construction phase. He feels, as Sheriff, he is not the appropriate person. He said that the project manager should be someone who is familiar with all of the aspects of the building project. Stutsman said they have not defined what a project manager is. Carpenter said he thinks a project manager is someone who works with the committees and the Board to keep everyone up-to-date as to how the project is proceeding. Scheer said he would be happy to be the project manager; however, he is concerned with time. He said, with other duties related to County facilities, he may need another person, so that the projects receive the attention they need. Thompson said Wagner knows the intricate details of how a jail operates and if a something is overlooked Wagner or someone from his staff are most likely to notice. Stutsman said there is always the concern of time because this would be an addition to their job. She said they need someone for whom this project is their sole responsibility. Jones said this is a very serious project and they should be able afford to hire a point person that is going to pull everything together. He said County employees already have enough responsibilities to keep them busy. Slockett said the person should understand how to work with contractors. He said they are going to have to hire someone to be the project manager or they are going to have to hire someone to fill Scheer’s position, so that he devote the necessary time to the project. Stutsman said this is a large project and it is going to require a lot of someone’s time to manage this project. Scheer said, if they do hire a project manager, he is going to have to work closely with this person so that he understands the building well. Jordahl said it makes more sense to hire someone to take up the slack in Scheer’s department while Scheer is the project manager.

Cole Chase asked if there were going to be 2 work groups. Thompson said there would be only one work group. Simpson said he came to this Committee with a negative view, but the information he has received has shown him the real needs that need to be addressed.

Adjourned at 4:55 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary