Posted: 1/4/05
New jail one step closer
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
A Houston County jail committee has recommended two architectural firms for county commissioners to choose from for designing a new jail.
Court administrator Darlene Larson gave the committeeís recommendation to the county board on December 28.
The two firms, both based in Minneapolis, are Klein Mc Carthy and KKE.
They were suggested based on the committeeís research, and tours of correctional facilities that the firms had designed elsewhere.
Committee members told the board that they would like to see a site manager hired who is separate from the architectural firm. This person would be on-site daily for the construction process.
A site manager would be paid a percentage of the projectís cost, probably 5-7 percent, said committee member Earl Welch. But he and other committee members said getting the right coordinator would be crucial, and the money would be well spent.
Second district commissioner Kevin Kelleher agreed, saying that architects can have tunnel vision with what they want.
ìNo matter who is hired, we have ideas what we want,î Larson said. ìItís not one decision for you to make. Itís literally thousands of decisions.î
The jail committee is officially known as the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. Most of its 13 members were present at the meeting last week in the basement of the courthouse in Caledonia.
They took turns repeating the need for a new jail. Jail administrator Mark Schiltz noted that the current jail cannot house females now, and its 14 beds are almost always filled. The jail had 13 inmates that day, Schiltz said, and would have 14 in another day, which is the maximum. Plus there were seven being housed out-of-county, and some waiting to serve jail time.
(Jail population should not exceed 70 percent of capacity, Schiltz told The Argus on December 30, because law prohibits housing certain types of criminals, such as sexual offenders, with other offenders.)
Larson said that jail time in Houston County isnít a punishment for some convicted people because there isnít immediate jail time.
ìItís like booking a hotel room,î she said. ìThatís a big deal for me, instead of three months from now, ëWeíll get you in when we have the spaceí.î
Fourth district commissioner noted that Houston County jail serves several communities. ìYouíve got a lot of people feeding into the system,î he said.
Specific details of what the new jail would consist of havenít emerged. It would be a law enforcement center, holding the jail, sheriffís office, court administrator, court services, and county attorney. Moving those offices would free up space in the courthouse.
The location of the new jail was not discussed.
Third district commissioner Ann Thompson, who also serves on the jail committee, said the committee would not like to see the jail process dragged out.
Commissioners should start interviewing firms soon, and learn how to do Requests For Proposals, Thompson said. ìThe time is right now, financially.î
The board ended the 45-minute discussion by passing a motion to approve the recommendation.
About the jail and committee
The present jail building was built in 1875 and is the oldest functioning jail in Minnesota.
It is divided into four cell blocks: two medium security (four beds), one maximum security (two beds), and one minimum work release (eight beds) for a total capacity of 14. It is monitored 24 hours a day by a staff of 12 jailers/dispatch officers.
The jail was remodeled in 1978, when the upstairs living quarters were converted into office space and the cell block area was remodeled to create more bed space and separate cell blocks.
It was renovated again in 1996 after the state threatened to close it unless it was modernized. Cameras and microphones were installed in all four cell blocks, which can be viewed from the dispatch center.
Jail committee members include Third District Court Judge James Fabian, county victim services director Michelle Herman, county attorney Rick Jackson, sheriff Mike Lee, La Crescent Police Chief Todd Nelson, jail administrator Mark Schiltz, court services director Kevin Siebold, Caledonia Police Chief Duane St. Mary, county commissioner Ann Thompson, county human services director Beth Wilms, and and citizens Russ Krech and Earl Welch.
The process of studying the need for a new jail has been going on since 1996, Thompson said.
Hangar fee set
Also at last weekís meeting, commissioners set the monthly rental fee for the Murphy hangar at the airport at $125/month for one plane and $250 a month for two planes, with the county paying for electricity. This was done after Dick Kleist, who had been paying $60 a month for the space, approached the board on December 21 to ask for a yearly lease at $60 a month with him paying the electrical utilities.
Caledonia Argus
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