A draft of a consultant’s final report contained the foregone conclusion that action is needed toward a new Warren County detention facility and for the first time discussion turned to a possible site — an existing shell building at the Ceres Industrial Interplex at Flowers.

“It’s a decision to do nothing or build a jail,” consultant Dave Voorhis told supervisors Monday. “I think you’ve got to do something.”

Though a final report is due next month from Colorado-based Voorhis/Robertson Justice Services Inc., much of what appears in the 94-page draft and a 46-page index of statistics and diagrams released Monday mirrors previous discusssions — a 134,000-square-foot facility with 350 beds and enough room to expand to 650 beds, a tripling of jail staff to 63 by the time a new jail is open, a revamped system of processing criminal cases involving a public defender’s office to rein in runaway defense costs and new software to manage and track the prison population.

Though the draft mentions cost-related items in general, such as site purchases and preparation, a final price could depend on the economy’s performance between now and when a new jail is built in about four years. Recently built jails in Mississippi have averaged about $151 per square foot, according to the draft report. Nationally, jails have been built for about $225 per square foot, Voorhis said. Most cost estimates by Voorhis and local officials have settled between $20 million and $30 million.

Operational costs will increase as well, but could be offset by faster processing of cases and other efficiencies, Voorhis has said. Almost all the people held at the 128-person jail at Cherry and Grove streets are pretrial detainees.

Improvement bonds and property tax increases have come up in scant discussions about how to finance new construction. District 1 Supervisor David McDonald, who has represented supervisors in the process since the current size-and-scope study began in December 2008, stressed the new facility must include changes to the criminal justice system.

“You can’t do one or the other,” McDonald said. “It’s got to be both.”

Voorhis said a 20-acre site would be a “bare minimum” for the undetermined location of a new jail. Voorhis said a site selection committee should be formed to weigh factors noted in the report as key criteria, including access to highways and other government services, compatible land-use, and, if needed, land purchase costs.

While site selection is not part of the study, Voorhis and supervisors briefly mentioned the 64,000-square-foot speculative building at Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex, built in 1995 to lure an industrial tenant. It remains empty and for sale.

“It has very desirable features,” Voorhis said, noting availability of utilities — water, sewer and electricity — at the site. “One bad part is it’s about 11 miles out of town.”

How using a portion of the 1,490-acre industrial park for a jail facility would mesh with industrial development plans was not discussed.

Floor plans of a completely expanded jail detail five inmate housing units of between 48 and 64 beds, with space for a courtroom and more support staff to include people to manage population and pretrial services.

A combination of pod-like designs geared to speed responses to incidents appears in the draft report, as does setups for inmate recreation, visits from the public, library services and religious services. A committee composed of both circuit judges, the district attorney and others has met semi-regularly and meets again Wednesday to discuss the study’s recommended changes to the justice system, such as the shift to a public defender’s office.

Shortening average lengths of stay for those awaiting trial is mentioned, though only in general terms. Consultants sampled 1,597 inmates in custody and admitted between Jan. 1, 2008, and Feb. 25, 2009, of which 52.8 percent were under age 30 and 101 were still in custody at the end of that period. Average days in custody for those sampled equaled 29.6 days and for those still in jail, 111 days. Warren County’s incarceration rate per 10,000 citizens is 25.6, less than the statewide rate of 39.1, according to the study.

The consultants have been paid $112,559.52 for conducting the study, including $2,475 this month. Voorhis asked the board to contract with the firm for two other functions — to enable monthly visits with the justice system committee and sanctioning the consultant firm to identify more specific needs relating to system overhauls.

The City of Vicksburg does not operate a jail and rents space on a per-day basis in the Warren County facility, when space has been available, in Issaquena County or in other regional facilities. 

Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com