There are several pieces to the proposed new Portage County Government Center, and a new jail and sheriff’s office is a key component.

Portage County residents will have an opportunity to vote Tuesday, Nov 8, on whether the county should build the proposed $78.5 million Government Center downtown to house a new jail and sheriff’s office, a new courthouse and new county government offices.

First in a series

It may sound like a familiar chord, one that some residents may believe was clipped with previous referenda showing opposition for similar projects. State standards have changed, the space needs have only increased which is driving up costs, and officials say it is time to move.

“In 1999, we needed space in the jail … (now) it’s really an entire county need,” Jami Gebert, executive administrative assistant, said during a public education session Oct. 12.

Government Center as a whole

The proposed center includes constructing a three-story, 270,000-square-foot building attached to the County Annex containing, in part, a two-pod jail to house a maximum of 200 inmates with room to grow if needed, and four new courts. Cost for this portion is $63.2 million.

General government offices also are proposed to be built attached to the existing County Annex at a $14 million cost; the cost includes one-third of the basement and mechanicals, a portion of the first-floor lobby area and remodeling the Annex building.

Also included in the plan is $360,500 for demolition of the 1039 Ellis St. building and demolishing the existing Law Enforcement Center for new parking at a little more than $1 million.

Repurposing the existing County-City Building also is on the list, but there are no specific dollars allocated to that project. The county has slated about $6 million for the building over a 10-year period through its Capital Improvement Plan, projects which are annually reviewed and included in the regular budget process.

The total amount also includes dollars for contingency and fees, soil testing, startup costs and furniture, fixtures and equipment.

What’s changed?

This is not the first time the county has gone to referendum on space needs. In November 2008, voters denied a referendum – 73 percent no to 27 percent in favor – to build a $72 million justice center that would house a new courthouse, jail, sheriff’s office and programs to reduce recidivism (repeat crimes).

Noting continued space needs, the county revised the plan and went back to referendum in 2010 to construct a new $29.5 million courthouse. It failed 70 percent to 30 percent.

County officials say the needs not only still exist but are greater, and at this point more than $25 million will have to be spent at minimum “and we will still have space needs … and we’ll continue to ship inmates,” Gebert said.

The biggest change from previous referendum attempts is state and federal code compliance. The existing jail and juvenile detention center by standard (not including function) is too small.

Other changes in the proposal in front of voters this time compared to eight years ago is the design for the jail is smaller – two pods instead of three – and the county determined a “one-stop” concept was better, so general county government offices such as the register of deeds, planning and zooming, treasurer and finance (among others) would be housed in one building.

Jail and Sheriff’s Office

The jail and sheriff’s office make up a little more than half of the cost of the project.

The Law Enforcement Center, which houses the jail, was built in 1990 with limiting construction costs as the top priority. When the existing building opened in 1991, it already was at capacity in part because it was built to a dollar amount instead of need, officials said, and in part because state codes changed during the construction. What started as a project that planned double occupancy cells wound up single occupancy.

The existing jail has 79 beds; its average population to date this year is 139 inmates, Sheriff Mike Lukas said.

When Lukas was elected sheriff, he took a stand on not building a new facility. His philosophy has changed, he said.

“I had a stance on remodeling and home monitoring, and I have brought the jail numbers down, but that doesn’t do anything with shipping inmates,” Lukas said. “I honestly thought we could remodel but as soon as we start remodeling, you get into codes which would reduce our 79 beds to 69.

“I’m putting just about everyone eligible out that I can, but I’m not going to set these people up to fail,” he said.

According to county statistics, in the last six months an average of 20 people per month have been out on Huber with 85 percent of those working. Day reports, which include daily testing for alcohol and drugs, showed a census of 141 on average per month in 2015. This year through September, the average census is 150 per month.

The existing jail and sheriff’s office use about 19,000 square feet; the new jail and sheriff’s office portion of the proposed building would be four times that to bring space up to state and federal codes. The space includes the bed increase to 200, food and laundry areas, classroom/activity space, and larger booking, Huber and vehicle sally port areas (currently the sally port cannot accommodate an ambulance or a second vehicle, which hampers transportation and medical efforts).

The new jail would be in a podular form with the officer station in the center so officers would be able to see 360 degrees clearly into the cells, reducing technological needs and increasing safety of officers and inmates, according to John Cain, architect and principal with Venture Architects of Milwaukee, which has been working with the county since 1999.

Currently, there are 50 cameras in the jail, which is a linear design. Corrections officers must monitor the cameras – which do not reach all corners of the jail – and walk down the halls, open a “peek through” to look into the cells to check on inmates. Just in the past two years, there have been suicide attempts and in July 2014, a man succeeded by hanging himself.

A big issue is ensuring safety by housing inmates with those who have similar backgrounds or have committed similar crimes.

“The big thing about the (new) jail is classification,” Lukas said, “so I’m not putting someone in there who’s sitting 30 days on a driving offense with someone who murdered someone. They should not be sitting together. You don’t want someone who’s not a criminal getting criminal ideas.”

The podular structure will incorporate about 10 beds specifically for what Cain calls “special needs” as well. Studies have shown mental health issues becoming more prevalent and links to criminal activity when not addressed. The new jail would be designed to assist with those types of needs, he said.

“Over the recent years, the special needs piece has really grown,” he said. “A lot of it is related to mental health, drug abuse, alcohol abuse; individuals just are not able to function in a general population and need to be isolated. It may be medical related, it may be mental health related, it might be suicide watch, because of their condition or behavior.”

There are smaller items, too, that aren’t often thought about such as locks that need replacing but are not produced any more, Lukas said.

Juvenile detention

The juvenile detention center also would come under the new jail, however it would be completely sight and sound separated. The existing area is 15 beds and would continue to be 15 beds, Cain said.

The new juvenile detention center would be about five times larger than the current center to allow for updated state and federal code compliance, a larger admissions area and a larger classroom/activity area.

Costs and cost savings

Though the price may seem large, there would be cost savings involved in building a new facility.

Since 1999, the county has spent about $9 million to transport inmates to other counties, specifically to Waupaca, which is contracted at 35 beds for $32 per day. The net result is the county is paying Waupaca $1,200 a day to house Portage County inmates.

Over the past few years, the county has averaged more than $500,000 a year to transport inmates. As of Oct. 1 this year, the county has spent nearly $445,000, $20,000 more than budgeted for the entire year.

Those figures only include the cost to house the inmates in other facilities, which along with Waupaca includes Lincoln and Marquette counties. Travel costs and staff time add about another $130,000 to the cost. In staff time, the county devotes nearly one full-time officer just to driving inmates to different locations.

Those shipping, housing and staff time dollars would mostly offset the additional operating costs for the new building, resulting in a cost of about $95,000 to operate the new facility.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles looking at what makes up the proposed $78.5 million Government Center that goes to an advisory referendum on Nov. 8 and the reasoning behind why Portage County leaders believe it to be the best option.