Clark County’s new jail administration is restarting work to make improvements to the current facility, though the planning process will likely take more than a year.
During an Aug. 2 “council time” meeting, the Clark County Council heard from county officials the state of efforts to begin a remodel of the Clark County Jail. Last year, the council approved the use of $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for architectural engineering costs for the jail as well as the county’s juvenile and work centers.
The county released a “request for proposals” for design services for the project in March, Clark County Director of Jail Services David Shook said. The county has one company they favor, though a contract has not yet been finalized for council approval.
Much of what the county requested for design was based on prior work done before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Correction Facility Advisory Commission spent 18 months researching a replacement for the current jail facilities, though it ultimately concluded a new jail’s cost would be “untenable.”
Now, with a look at remodeling instead of replacement, the improvements identified by the old commission in 2019 formed are still under consideration, including an 850- to 900-bed facility.
Shook noted capacity was only one aspect of needed renovations.
“You could build a 2,000-bed facility, and if the processes and the systems that are around that are not effective, that’s not going to be enough, either,” Shook said.
One of those aspects was the number of contact areas for intake and discharge.
“We all recognize that that initial triage area is critically important for everything, the entire operations,” Shook said.
Other aspects included technology, meeting spaces and putting courts at the bottom of the facility to minimize transport of inmates for hearings, Amber Emery, deputy county manager, said.
Emery said the county’s favored company for the contract, which was not named during the update, was planning on the 850- to 900-bed target. Shook believed reaching the targeted number of beds would be a gradual process.
“Are we going to start off at 900 [beds] when the doors open? No, I don’t see that,” Shook said.
He said the additional systems needed to be in place before the jail could handle that level of occupancy.
Councilor Sue Marshall appreciated a gradual increase of beds. She said there were a number of factors in the process that may change what the county’s long-term goal is.
“It may be we need that 900. Maybe we don’t need that 900. Maybe we need a lot more,” Marshall said.
Once a contract with a design company is signed, a 12- to 18-month planning process will begin, Emery said. That process will include the company meeting with stakeholder groups representing different jail operations, from administration to custodial services.
Stakeholder groups may also include community partners such as homelessness support, detox and other services, as well as the public at large. Heads of agencies that use the jail, such as police chiefs of cities in the county, are also recommended to be included in the stakeholder group list, Emery said.
Potential items from stakeholder groups that require a decision would go to a steering committee. That committee would provide the final decisions for the council to approve.
“It’s a funnel. The steering committee’s your ultimate decider about what goes into the facility,” Emery said.
Councilor Glen Yung said having a range of stakeholders will benefit the process.
“I don’t care how good you are at what you do, there are things you’re going to miss, and it’s important to have those separate sets of eyes on it,” Yung said.
The councilor asked, when suggestions from stakeholders are made, how it can be ensured they are seen by the council. Emery said the steering committee could provide periodic updates to the council to facilitate that communication.
Yung said having more two-way communication through the process would be beneficial. He noted that often, when forming a plan for a project as large as a jail remodel, some voices can feel they aren’t heard if they don’t know why their recommendations aren’t in the final work.
“Just that feedback would be helpful so that they feel appreciated for what they have given to the process,” Yung said.
