February 21, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
How many beds would be needed if and when a new DeKalb County Jail or Judicial Center is built?
The Jail committee of the DeKalb County Commission is expected to learn next Tuesday night, February 27 from the county’s architect and contractor what the costs projections are for a possible 150, 190 or 225 bed facility. The meeting will be at 5 p.m. in the history room of the county complex.
During the last jail committee meeting in January, Jim Hart, Jail Consultant and Field Manager of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) updated the committee on the county’s jail assessment revised study which now recommends up to 272 beds to meet current and future needs but there seemed to be little or no support among the committee for a facility with 272 beds.
Even if the jail committee decides on the number of beds for a new jail or judicial center, the county has not yet identified a suitable location to build it. Several potential locations have been suggested including property on Riley Avenue owned by the hospital which has caused neighbors in that area to start a petition drive against such an option. Again, the county has not yet settled on any location.
Apart from the jail/judicial center issue is whether the Board of Education will agree to appropriate two million dollars of its surplus funds in support of the county’s offer to fund construction of a new $40 million elementary school without raising property taxes or implementing a wheel tax for that project. The school board postponed a vote on that earlier this month until all seven members could be present at the next meeting.
Since then local property developer Tonya Sullivan has come up with an idea which she is calling a modified plan for the county to consider which would downsize the proposed jail project to only the number of beds needed and a courtroom and for it to be built on the site of the Board of Education headquarters (Ernest Ray Education Center) downtown adjacent to the existing sheriff’s department and jail. Sullivan said the county could offer to purchase from the Board of Education the facility, formerly known as the Bicentennial Building and have the school board move to a new location yet to be identified. Sullivan said her plan would be less costly to the county, make use of property for jail space the county already owns, and preserve use of the courthouse. She added that it would also relieve public worries about a jail or justice center being built in their neighborhood. Through cost savings in that effort, Sullivan said the county and school board could perhaps work toward a more viable plan to build a new school.
Sullivan said she has already spoken with County Mayor Matt Adcock, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps, and School Board Chairman Shaun Tubbs about her idea but has not formally presented her proposal to the county commission or board of education.
Sullivan put down her thoughts in the following prepared statement she gave to WJLE:
“I have been in deep thought about how the school and the county could work together to reach a common goal of a new school and a justice center”.
“I feel that God gave me the idea that could possibly be a responsible and viable solution that would meet the goal”.
“The county has presented to the school board that a school could be built if they (board) contributed two million dollars. This idea would save the county money and in turn be able to reduce the needed contribution for the school board which would allow the building of the school to commence”.
“The county commissioners have been diligently seeking a location to build a justice center. This has a high price tag. The new justice center if relocated would be potentially intrusive of neighborhoods and cause hardships on families and devaluing homes cost wise. If relocated, money will have to be spent to gain square footage that we already own before adding new beds. Relocating abandons the courthouse and repairs to the courthouse still falls on the county”.
“The new idea that I have that I have spoken with the county mayor about would be to negotiate and purchase the Board of Education building and use that property to build new beds with a courtroom on top”.
“The Board of Education would relocate. At first the money saved could assist with a school and assist with repairs; modify the justice center; meet the needs of showing a commitment to the state for new beds; offering security to the prisoners; be responsible with taxpayers dollars, not disturb neighborhoods, keep the same location and utilize square footage that we currently have, and to continue to utilize and repair the courthouse”.
“I made an appointment to meet with Mr. Shaun Tubbs, School Board Chairman, and Mr. Patrick Cripps, Director of Schools. I discussed the opportunity of a new justice center and the potential to sell the current Bicentennial Building where the school board is housed. I discussed the needs of the county and basically told them that I was a liaison between them and the county and the board could come to an agreement to offset some or all of the two million dollars by selling the building, offering a savings compared to relocating the jail and with that savings and some contribution, the board and county could maybe move forward in building a school and justice center with the justice center being modified to fit the space available”.