It has been about 53 years since Carroll County has had a bond referendum, and that was when the current Carroll County Courthouse was constructed. And now the supervisors and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office have put in over two and a half years studying options for another referendum to address issues they are facing with the current jail. Utilized by both the Sheriff’s Office and the Carroll Police Department, the over five-decades’ old jail has been repeatedly tapped by the state as insufficient in terms of space, ability to separate prisoners and ultimately safety factors for prisoners and staff alike. The result of investigating all options possible has led to the proposal of a 16,800 square foot addition to the west side of the current courthouse that would cost up to $8.95 million. This would once again require the county to make a request for approval from county voters in a special bond referendum on Nov. 6. Supervisor Rich Ruggles says there will be a minimal impact on the bottom-line taxes of county residents.
And, these numbers, the $8.95 million, Supervisor Neil Bock points out, are very much a worse-case scenario. Bock adds that if the costs are more than the projected estimate, they simply won’t do it. The current design from Shive Hattery is of a three-story structure that matches the current courthouse. The ground level has secure parking with an additional layer of security in a special prisoner loading and unloading portal. The second floor houses a 32-bed jail that can be easily expanded to 52. Administrative space for the Sheriff’s Office would be on the upper level. The entire building is designed to blend into the surroundings by locating all prisoner-related space to the center. The public will not see, hear or have contact with any of those incarcerated within. Sheriff, Ken Pingrey says that even though there has been some pushback on the proposed location, there are specific and serious reasons for the choice.
Law enforcement has also seen an increase in the need for their presence in the courthouse with the Department of Transportation duties at the County Treasurer’s Office. And, Pingrey says, there are a lot of altercations in the jail. If his deputies are out on patrol in the county, the do rely on the Carroll Police Department officers to assist as they can currently be at the jail in a minute or under. Pingrey says the plan has also received a thumbs up from the State Jail Inspector, Delbert Longley.
Even those who have voiced opposition to placing it adjacent to the courthouse agree, a new jail is needed. And for those in doubt, a tour is all it will take to provide an eye-opening perspective. A media tour was conducted on Thursday, and members of the press were given a first-hand look at the crowded, dated and quite frankly, unsafe conditions that the staff members work in on a daily basis. Pingrey pointed out the antiquated door-locking system that requires a set of keys to open a box and the manual tumbling of switches to close cell doors to the plexi-glass installed along the bars to keep prisoners from being able to spit and throw items at jailers, on to the tiny, approximately 12 foot by 8 foot, kitchen used to prepare the meals. The entire area is a shock to the senses, from the cramped spaces, to the high levels of noise, the musty smell of the old basement and the knowledge that there is really only a wooden door between the main jail area and the rest of the courthouse. Tours for the general public have been scheduled, and everyone is encouraged to see for themselves exactly why this is such a critical issue to Carroll County leaders and law enforcement. A schedule of upcoming tours, statistics on occupancy at the jail, photos from the tour and more detailed information about the bond referendum can all be found below.
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The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office will be offering tours of our current jail several times a week from August 13 through November 5th. These tours will be offered at many different times and will be posted on our Facebook page, the Carroll County website and through various media outlets. This is being done to bring awareness to our current jails plight and the need for Carroll County taxpayers to vote yes to a new county jail on the November 6, 2018 General Election Ballot. We encourage all voters to be highly informed on this matter as it will impact your taxes to a certain degree.
The upcoming schedule for the week of August 13-17 is: Monday, August 13th at 5:00 PM, Tuesday, August 14th at 9:30 AM and Wednesday, August 15th at 3:00 PM.
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Click below to follow link to PowerPoint presentation on referendum facts
Jail-2018-06-14-PAC-Presentation-Abbreviated_Final
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Jail occupancy statistics (click two times on pages to bring to full size):
