More than $1.67 million to start construction of a new building for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is one step from being approved after meetings of two committees of the Jefferson County Quorum Court Tuesday night.
With no discussion, the Public Safety/Emergency Services and Finance Committees of the county’s legislative body went along with the proposed ordinance and recommended that the full court approve the ordinance at the full quorum court meeting next Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The measure went through the Public Safety/Emergency Services Committee with no discussion, but Justice of the Peace Alfred Carroll said the matter “had been discussed at length” at previous meetings.
Last November, Sheriff Gerald Robinson proposed building a two-story facility adjacent to the adult detention center that would house all the department’s divisions, including the Criminal Investigation and Patrol Divisions, which are currently housed in buildings in the 100 block of Main Street that have been plagued by leaking roofs and other problems.
The cost of that proposal was about $3.1 million, and several justices of the peace, including Dr. Herman Ginger, Chairman of the Public Safety/Emergency Services Committee, asked County Judge Mike Holcomb to look at other options to reduce the cost.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In January, architects from the Nelson Architectural Firm provided information about an existing building located at 200 E. 11th Ave., adjacent to the civic center complex, that was for sale. That building was owned by Nelson and members of the quorum court made no decision on the proposal at the January meeting.
“I’m glad to see that it (the new sheriff’s building) is going to be on this end instead of way down the road,” Justice of the Peace Mandy Alford said Tuesday about constructing a new building near the courthouse.
In a letter to the justices attached to the proposed legislation, Robinson said he understood the $3.1 million cost was an issue and said the department was prepared to make adjustments to cut those costs, and indicated the total cost for the new building would be no more than $2.5 million, which would completely construct the facility, and enable not only the Patrol and Criminal Investigation Divisions to move, but would also allow the department to locate the Technical Services, Warrants and Civil Divisions in the new building, as well as other department personnel.
Robinson said in that letter that the department would acquire other monies through forfeitures and private donations to complete the second floor of the building.
Asked by Justice of the Peace Dr. Conley Byrd how much the department collects from forfeitures in an average year, Robinson said the fund currently “has in excess of $200,000 in it.”
Construction of the new sheriff’s building is expected to take 10 to 12 months.
Justice of the Peace Ted Harden noted that the cost of constructing the new building would be about the same as the county would have had to spend to buy an existing building and refurbish it to fit the needs of the department.
The ordinance calls for transferring $100,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the old county jail, $150,000 from Mortgage Revenue Bonds, $25,000 from the Jefferson County Escrow Fund, $133,000 from the Jail Operations Fund, $1,006,000 from the Detention Facilities Reserve Fund, and $263,000 from the Detention Facilities Maintenance and Operation Fund into a new account to finance the construction.
Ginger chaired the meeting in place of Holcomb who was absent, as were Justices of the Peace Cleddie Shock and Paul Jones.