DLZ project manager Scott Carnegie presents jail pre-design phase.
(Courtesy, Microsoft Teams)
Monroe County's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the pre-design phase for the new jail Thursday night, despite concerns about the cost and layout. Members of the Monroe County Council were also in attendance but not required to vote.
The project is estimated to cost $236,947,833. Some councilmembers raised concerns about the cost given recent efforts to cut state property taxes and a newly-discovered county budgeting error that means the county will collect about $4 million less this year than projected.
Scott Carnegie is project manager of architect firm DLZ. He said careful design planning will help avoid future financial burdens.
“Something that I frequently tell communities: is this an expensive endeavor? Absolutely,” Carnegie said. “Will it eventually be paid off? Yes.”
County councilmember Kate Wiltz said she would have voted against the project’s pre-design phase.
Wiltz took issue with the cost, proposed outdoor recreational area, and the increased number of inmate beds. She referenced a 2024 county council resolution that stated the council wanted to see less than 400 beds in the jail layout.
“I understand it’s not my decision and you can decide that it’s going to be 500 beds, but to not talk through that when we have these conversations just feels very disrespectful,” she said.
Carnegie explained that the current outdoor recreational area for inmates is a hybrid structure with a roof and walls that can be raised and lowered. Wiltz likened the structure to a “garage door” and felt the proposed structure would not allow for proper rehabilitation of offenders.
The schematic design phase will be presented to county councilors and commissioners in May.
That phase will include more detailed information about the jail’s proposed layout. Carnegie assured county councilmember Peter Iverson that cost estimates, staffing analysis and operational (water, sewer, gas, etc.) costs will become more refined as the design phase moves forward.
Contractor bids are expected in May of next year with construction to begin later that summer.
The jail project is scheduled to be finished in 2029.
