PRINCETON — Gibson County Commissioners appointed retired International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Business Manager Paul Green as the clerk of the works for the proposed new jail construction project Wednesday, pending the Gibson County Council’s agreement to fund the project.
Commissioners expect to ask the county council for funding to begin the design of a 288-bed jail built on a new site, and to secure the property for the project.
If the council approves funding, commissioners will pursue an option to buy the property and compete for an engineering evaluation
Green’s role will be to work with the architectural firm American Structurepoint Inc. to submit a construction timeline to be submitted to U.S. Southern District Federal Court in order to comply with terms of a settlement agreement in a 2019 class action lawsuit filed against the county that alleges jail overcrowding and understaffing. The agreement sets out deadlines for achieving a jail that is not overcrowded and understaffed by January 2023.
County Attorney James McDonald read a statement at Wednesday’s board of commissioners meeting, explaining that commissioners are bound to the settlement agreement and its deadlines, which included hiring the architectural firm to present options to solve overcrowding and evaluate potential sites for an expanded jail.
American Structurepoint presented the study to the Gibson County Jail Committee in September, offering the options of a $41.8 million 288-bed jail built to accommodate needs for 20 years at a new site, a $34.4 million 196-bed jail built at a new site built to accommodate needs for 10 years, and a $44.6 million expansion of the jail to 288 beds at the current site.
The study recommended the 288-bed new build at a new site and the architectural firm proposed a construction schedule that includes six to seven months of design work, four to six weeks for bids and award, and 18 months of construction
Commissioners voted Oct. 6 to pursue the $41.8 million new build funded by cash reserves, revenue from the Economic Development Income Tax fund and the new jail tax fund. The Gibson County Council endorsed the new build option and identified funding sources as a combination of cash reserves, EDIT, and jail tax funds. The resolution was presented to the federal court judge on the settlement’s Oct. 13 deadline.
Commissioners voted Wednesday to direct the architect to design a 288-bed new site jail with an alternate bid that would defer 92 beds, and another alternate that would defer construction of the community corrections facility. “The commissioners will receive bids on the full 20-year solution and the less expensive 10-year solution in what is expected to be a very competitive bidding environment next year due to COVID,†McDonald said.
“We are under a very tight schedule to fulfill the requests in the lawsuit,†Commissioner Steve Bottoms said. “There are a couple of things I think we must do today, in order to have to have it constructed by January 2023,†he said as he offered the motion to direct the architectural firm to proceed and to hire Green as the clerk of the works for the project.
With a second from Board of Commissioners President Gerald Bledsoe, the motion passed 2-0. Commissioner Mary Key was not present at Wednesday’s meeting.
“We need to move forward on this as quickly as possible,†Bottoms said. “Even if do this immediately, the timeline will still be tight.â€
