Pike County’s new jail is a go after supervisors voted Thursday on a resolution of intent to build the facility. It marked a key moment in the project by authorizing work to begin, although it will be in the form of pushing paper and not turning dirt.
Supervisors said the county will build the new jail just north of the existing one on land in the county-owned Metro-Pike Industrial Park.
“I think it is actually past time for us to take action and build a new facility,” Supervisor Robert Accardo said.
The current jail is constantly overcrowded, raising safety concerns as a result.
While acknowledging the significance of the investment, everyone else on the board was in agreement.
“This is something we have to do. This is not something we want to do because it’s going to cost a considerable amount, but this is something we have to do,” Supervisor Sam Hall said.
Supervisor Jake Gazzo reiterated his concerns about the potential of costly federal oversight if nothing is done to correct the current jail’s inadequacies, which would be too expensive, or replace it.
“You’re at a point where you’ve got to make a decision. That 30-year-old-plus building is at a life span where you’ve got to repair it,” Gazzo said.
The county is looking to hire Benchmark Construction to build the facility and forgo the bid process by financing the jail through a 20-year lease-purchase agreement, most likely with the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District. However, that action is still a ways off, county officials said.
Thursday’s vote allows engineers and financial professionals to begin designs and other work, County Administrator Tami Dangerfield said.
The board recently increased property taxes by 1.5 mills to devote funds to professional services and financing for the project.
Supervisor Robert Accardo said the proposed site for the new jail could allow the county to continue some programs in the current jail, including alternative sentencing and rehabilitation programs, as retired federal judge Keith Starrett has advocated.
“It’s a good location. It would put a new facility next to the old facility, which would allow the old jail to become part of the criminal justice complex,” Accardo said. “We heard from Judge Starrett and others about some rehabilitation programs. That location would allow us to use the old facility for such programs.”
However, there’s one problem with the location — state law says the jail must be located inside the city limits of the county seat, but the site is adjacent to Magnolia city limits.
Attorney Troy Johnson of Butler Snow, who is advising the board on the project, said that could be remedied by seeking so-called local-and-private legislation that would grant an exception. The earliest that could take place is January, when the Legislature reconvenes.
Accardo also noted that Magnolia officials are in the process of annexing the land in a “belt-and-suspenders approach.” Dangerfield said city officials told her that could result in an October court date at the earliest.
“What you’re doing today just gets the process started,” Johnson said.
He said the county should be able to save some money on the project by hiring the contractor directly, which is only allowed under the lease-purchase agreement, and building to its specific needs.
“It’s cost engineering,” he said, adding that other places “have saved a significant amount of money doing that.”
