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Consultant recommends 450-500 beds for new Monroe County Jail

Monroe County Jail

The current county jail at 301 N. College Ave. (Seth Tackett, WFIU/WTIU)

An engineering consultant says Monroe County should build a new jail with 450 to 500 beds instead of renovating the current 294-bed facility.

That’s the main takeaway from a $40,000 feasibility study by RQAW Corporation, approved last year by the county commissioners.

Company representatives presented the report’s findings to the commissioners Monday.

At the meeting, Sheriff Ruben Marté said he does not want to fill every bed but added a new jail needs to have more space.

Read more: Sheriff touts improvements to current jail as county works on replacement

“If we have another pandemic, God forbid, we have to separate people,” Marté said. “We have to have the space to do that. We have to have the beds to do that.”

The study puts the project range between about $91.5 and $106.3 million. The hard construction cost alone is estimated at $76 million, but with project and design contingencies and soft costs, it's closer to $99 million.

DLZ, the firm the commissioners chose to design a new jail, puts the range between $142 and $152 million. DLZ is still fine-tuning those numbers.

The county wants to build a co-located justice complex, which in addition to the jail itself — could include space for courts, the prosecutor and public defender, community corrections, probation and other services.

RQAW's estimate factors in space for courts, but not those other offices.

Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas said she thinks RQAW's estimate is low, and DLZ's estimate may be more accurate.

Read more: Racial disparity in Monroe County Jail ‘worse than ever', NAACP tells committee for new facility

A feasibility study is a step toward building a new jail required by state law.

A 2021 consultant’s report determined the current jail does not provide constitutional levels of care for inmates.

That followed a 2009 lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed against the county. It alleges the jail violates inmates’ constitutional rights, in part because of overcrowding.

Due to a settlement agreement the county reached with the ACLU, it must maintain a population below 258 inmates, or 244 beds.

Last year, an ACLU representative told county officials the current jail has exceeded its functional life cycle.

Read more: Prosecutor: no charges yet against those arrested at Dunn Meadow protests

In February, the county commissioners said they are no longer considering county-owned land on Bloomington’s southwest side as a future jail site.

Instead, they are now looking at privately-owned land between State Road 46 and Arlington Road, which is northwest of city limits.

The commissioners, two of whom are up for reelection this year, have been heavily criticized by their opponents for what they say is a lack of progress on the project — and for not finding a site closer to the center of Bloomington.

The commissioners have not decided where a new jail should be built.

This story has been updated.

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