MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JULY 6, 2000
JOINT MEETING WITH THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, SHERIFF, AUDITOR, TREASURER, VENTURE, DWIGHT DOBBERSTEIN, JAIL STEERING COMMITTEE AND THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Joint Meeting: Summary Style
Joint Meeting: Transcript Style
Chairperson Stutsman called the Joint Meeting to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 1:00 p.m.
Present were: County Attorney J. Patrick White; County Auditor Tom Slockett; County Recorder Kim Painter; County Sheriff Bob Carpenter; County Supervisors Charles Duffy, Jonathan Jordahl, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson; County Treasurer Tom Kriz; Jail Steering Committee Members Pete Hayek (Chair), Marty Jones, Bob Kemp, Dave Maupin, Norm Osland (Co-chair), Leonard Roberts, Tim Ruth, Bob Simpson, and Marilyn Wright; Neumann Monson PC Architects AIA Architect Dwight Dobberstein; and Venture Architects Principal John Cain. County staff present were: Sheriff’s Major Duane Lewis, Board of Supervisors Administrative Assistant Carol Peters and Auditor’s Office Recording Secretary Casie Parkins.
Stutsman said this meeting is to educate the Board of Supervisors and the public about the Jail overcrowding. Sheriff Carpenter said in 1991 they were put on notice by the State Jail Inspector. They were able to double bunk, which alleviated the problem for a period of time, but as of January they were back on notice. Stutsman said this means that Johnson County has to deal with the situation by either making changes to the current facilities or housing prisoners outside of Johnson County. She said that as long as the Inspector feels a good faith effort is being made to address the problem, time can be bought. She said they are trying to make the Legislature understand what counties are facing, but legislators also are getting a message from constituents to get tough on crime, leading to more laws being passed that necessitate more jail space.
Jail Steering Committee Chairperson Pete Hayek said the Johnson County Jail Overcrowding Study Committee was appointed last September, met biweekly to look at problems of overcrowding and safety in the Jail in order to come up with a recommendation to the Board, and presented their findings on January 20, 2000. Hayek gave a history on building the current jail, and then growth in jail population, before and after double-bunking from 46 to a 92-bed capacity. He said the jail population has gotten as high as 135.
Hayek said Bill Garnos, of CSG Consultants, did a complete study at the request of the Board to determine what future jail needs will be through 2019. Garnos and the Committee found many factors in Johnson County that influence the jail population. He said that one factor is minimum jail terms set by statutes that increase the number of offenders going to jail. Hayek said Johnson County District Associate Judge Steve Gerrard had talked of a pilot program the Department of Corrections has for people on probation and parole from state institutions or prisons coming to Johnson County. When terms and conditions are violated, they are put in Johnson County Jail by an Administrative Law Judge, where they remain until their cases are adjudicated. Hayek said this places more requirements on the facility to house these people. He said there really is no way to keep people who are on probation or parole from coming for a job here. He said this community is desirable for people to try to get back into the mainstream when they come out of prison.
Hayek said Garnos, based on past population trends, projected that a 255-bed facility would be needed. Hayek said Garnos found the safety of the deputies and prisoners an issue, with so many people overcrowded into one area. He said there are classification problems, since the capacity has been doubled from the 46 it was built to hold. Hayek said the cost of shipping people away is about $65-90 per day per prisoner per bed, if beds can be found.
Hayek discussed options for the Jail. He said the Committee found the current location cannot meet future expansion needs and staffing 2 locations would increase costs. Hayek said a new facility should meet current national jail standards and have all of the infrastructure, cafeteria and laundry, for expansion possibilities right from the start. He said the Committee strongly urges the Board and citizens of Johnson County to support and fund a new facility.
Sheriff Bob Carpenter said that in 1982 total bookings were 1,580 and were 7,000 in Fiscal Year 2000. He said the average daily count for FY2000 was a few over 92, which doesn’t take into consideration in-house detention with 15 to 20 people. For those individuals eligible for work release they still have to have a bed in the facility for them to return to after their workday. He said there are quite a few mattresses on the floor, which causes safety issues.
Carpenter gave the breakdown of agencies delivering inmates to the Johnson County Jail last year: the Iowa City Police Dept., 3,420 inmates; Coralville Police Dept., 705; Univ. of Iowa Dept. of Public Safety, 679: the Highway Patrol, 146; Sheriff’s Department, 1,016 inmates; North Liberty Police Dept., 11; and University Heights, 10. He said the court system sentenced 1,055 prisoners for terms up to a year. He added there is a possibility of the State changing the limitation on county jail sentences to 2 years due to State prisoner housing problems.
The breakdown for 1999 bookings by the type of offense was as follows: intoxication, almost 2,000; possession under the legal age, 40; false identification, 13; intoxication 2nd offense, 84; OWI, 1,897; illegal drug possession, 760; prohibited acts, 1; and for drug tax stamps (charges added for illegal possession), 8. He said there are several incarcerated for murder charges, burglaries, and sexual offenses. Stutsman asked if the Jail accepts prisoners from other counties. Carpenter said that they used to, but can’t anymore, due to overcrowding, except for a possible overnight stay for a special need. Stutsman asked what kind of impact there would be on the Jail if the Legislature did approve 2 years in county jails, and Carpenter responded that it would be beyond the County’s capabilities.
Dobberstein said Garnos projected jail population numbers through the year 2019. Extending long-term trends forward produced a projection of about 150 and shorter-term trends (with more dramatic increases) projected to about 221. He reported that Garnos used the midpoint of the 2 projections, 185 inmates, as a base number that he multiplied times a peaking factor and a classification factor (for the need to isolate some prisoners) to arrive at a 255-bed projection for the year 2019.
Jordahl said crime increases faster than the population when people become more packed together. Dobberstein said he feels Garnos is conservative in his projections, not using the worst case scenario. Thompson estimated that the highest trend would project out to 290 beds with the factors applied. Jordahl cautioned that maybe the trend is going to be higher than any of the projections shown and that may lead to the kind of assumption underlying not building a large enough facility as in 1981. He said they don’t want the future Board of Supervisors to be in the same situation in less than 20 years.
Slockett said the increasing jail population may not totally be due to county population, but to the law and order mentality of the State Legislature decreasing the discretion of judges and criminalizing more behavior. He said this could change in the future. Hayek said a drop in the OWI presumptive level from .1 to .08 would increase those in jail for OWI. Stutsman said the legislators are elected and respond to what the electorate wants, the feeling being a good portion of the population likes being tough on crime.
Dobberstein said Garnos had listed major problems in the present Jail: insufficient housing; inadequate space for intake and release, especially on a weekend night; lack of possible expansion for support facilities; no visibility into those dayrooms, creating a dangerous situation; and an inability to segregate classifications. He reported Garnos recommends a new jail on a new site. Dobberstein gave Garnos’ conclusion: Johnson County has no choice but to either build a new jail or begin to ship people out. He said the low-end cost of shipping prisoners to other jails will be at least $65 a day per prisoner. Dobberstein multiplied $65 times the number of prisoners projected over 74 beds, coming up with the total expense for the first year, $616,815. He said the annual cost will go up each year with the projected growth in the number of prisoners each year, making the cost in the 10th year $1,863,355 for the year. He said that if you add the costs up over the 10 years the total costs will be about $15 million. Jordahl said the costs should also include the time, additional staff, fuel, and wear and tear on the cars, if they are going to really communicate the costs. Carpenter said it is difficult to predict how distant the locations would be where prisoners are placed. Hayek said it would be best to give accurate estimates and not include estimates based on guesswork.
Slockett asked what the assumption is on the annual increase in the number of prisoners. Dobberstein said that it is a 5% increase annually based on Garnos’ report. Carpenter said 90% of the costs running the jail are labor costs. He added that the current facility is not an efficient design and the new facilities will be a lot better. He said a jail population increase doesn’t necessarily increase employees proportionately. He said there are savings in the new construction because of the layout.
Dobberstein said Venture Architects of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was selected as jail consultant, after a committee looked through proposals. He said they have extensive experience around the country on jail facilities and especially county jails. Dobberstein said they toured a jail in Rhinelander, Wisconsin that was about the size Johnson County needs and were impressed with it. John Cain, of Venture Architects, said that in preparing for the presentation there were specific questions Dobberstein had given Venture to be answered, which were as follows:
A) Issues related to the CSG Consultants report: The existing jail, how does it compare with other facilities? Do you agree with the 255 beds? Is intake/release adequate; is it safe? What is you’re opinion on other areas of the building, particularly support services? Why is the lack of visibility in the jail a problem?
B) What spaces are needed in a new jail? (He noted they have come close to a recommendation on the size of the new building.)
C) Why isn’t a regional jail a viable solution?
D) Do you recommend building a new jail?
Cain said the CSG report outlines a number of issues pertaining to the existing conditions of the Jail. Cain described the 2-story facility, made up of mostly offices on the 1st floor, with an entry area for prisoners, and jail functions on the 2nd floor. He discussed the linear design of the Jail and limitations on expanding the core support areas.
Cain supported the final 255-bed recommendation of Garnos because Johnson County is a quickly growing county and that will impact the jail population. Cain reiterated that he agrees with the direction Garnos has taken; however, he did mention that he would put some qualifiers on things such as basing the number of beds on past conditions of arrest rates. He cited past actions of the Legislature and how future conditions will effect the outcome. Cain added that if they look at the year 2019 as a benchmark, the bed capacity of 255 might be realized sooner or a few years later. Cain said the master plan for this facility should provide for expansion. Cain then talked about space needed in the new jail and the layout of proposed jail, noting staffing efficiencies and expansion capabilities.
Cain then said they are not looking at a regional jail, a multi-jurisdictional one, where a group of counties pool their resources and build a single facility. He explained it would not be economical for smaller counties to have a jail with under 100 inmates. Cain said that because Johnson County is at a size where it can have its own jail, it would not be in the best interest to try and make it a regional jail.
Hayek highlighted media coverage of opposition to regional jails. Cain then summarized what surrounding counties are doing in relation to their jails. He concluded that as architects, they suggested that Johnson County should build a new jail. He said that the current jail is overcrowded and not safe for staff and inmates. Cain explained that Johnson County is growing rapidly and that will lead to a larger jail population. He touched on transportation costs and growing construction costs. He then reminded the Board that Johnson County is being watched very carefully by the Department of Corrections and they may reevaluate their position if the referendum doesn’t pass.
Jordahl asked Cain about the pent up demand in Johnson County. He was concerned that with more jail space, officers will be more likely to arrest people and judges will be more likely to put them in jail. Hayek said that he had no impression that more jail space will impact the rate of arrests. Jordahl asked why they are not projecting even further into the future, like 2040. Norm Osland said that there is no guarantee that what they do now is going to be 100% right in 10 years. There was some discussion about the Black Hawk County Jail.
Tom Slockett pointed out the staffing and the costs of the new jail were not mentioned. Stutsman said that subject will be up for discussion at their 3rd informational meeting. Committee members reviewed the lower costs per inmate at facilities such as Oneida County. Carpenter said that the State’s position might change because the Jail Inspector who sent the Board the letter is no longer on staff anymore. Bob Simpson said that he felt their biggest challenge is to do this in a humane and civil fashion. Slockett encouraged Sheriff Carpenter to take whatever steps are necessary to make the protection of his staff and prisoners a top priority. Stutsman agreed.
Stutsman noted there would be 2 more joint informational meetings in the Board Room regarding the jail issue: on August 3rd at 1:00 p.m., a work session on site selection; and August 10th at 1:00 p.m., a work session with the Jail Finance Consultant. Thompson reported the Board would be voting at their formal meeting the next week whether to proceed with the timetable for a new jail proposal.
Adjourned at 3:12 p.m.