County Looks At Jail Upgrade

Hoping to solve some space issues, Van Zandt County might explore converting its jail to an all-maximum security facility.

Currently, only part of the jail meets maximum-security standards, while the rest is classified for minimum-security housing.

The shortage of space for maximum-security prisoners has forced the county to ship some of those to other counties’ facilities. The costs of doing that brought about the idea of upgrading the current jail.

Jeffrey Heffelfinger with Southwest Architects Inc. talked to the county commissioners in their meeting Tuesday morning.

He said the current facility was well suited to be upgraded.

"There are some very economical means by which we could get you there," Heffelfinger said of the work that would be necessary.

However, he also urged the development of what he termed "a long-range master plan" for the county jail building.

Heffelfinger said his firm would offer the county a two-part contract that included an initial study before going to negotiations on fees. County auditor John Shinn later noted that such work would not have to go through a competitive bid process.

Since the matter was not listed on Tuesday’s agenda as a matter on which to take action, the court may bring it back as an action item in its next meeting July 14.

A more immediate matter concerning the jail — water and sewer blockages — also was addressed at the meeting.

The commissioners’ court unanimously approved an offer from Rick Smith for underground video work to determine where a possible series of leaks or line breakages are beneath the kitchen and laundry room areas of the jail.

"The first step of fixing this problem is for me to run a camera under there where I can, so I can see how many breaks there are," Smith said. He added that it might be necessary to take apart "clean outs," capped pipes that allow access to sewer lines for cleaning out of blockages.

Commissioners Virgil Melton Jr. and Ron Carroll initially questioned Smith’s $10,000 price tag for the work. Melton Jr. said he would have preferred a more itemized bid and thought Smith might not have to do all of the work that was included in the bid.

However, Commissioner Ricky LaPrade said the price was good for the work offered.

"If he is going to use video, he may as well do all of the area. We could have two or three leaks in different places," LaPrade said.

The justice center facility, which includes the county jail and sheriff’s office, has several foundation and infrastructure issues that have become a sore spot for Van Zandt County Sheriff Pat Burnett and county commissioners recently.

"Water (leaks and backups) have been a problem with this place from the very beginning," Burnett said during the discussion.

Smith said he estimated the work would take about three weeks to complete and said he could begin as early as Monday.

Van Zandt County Judge Rhita Koches asked Melton Jr. and LaPrade to be the contact people for Smith to report findings to as the video work progressed.