“It’s a big ask.”

Persistent overcrowding at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility (YCDF), the county’s jail, has brought forth a proposal from consultants to expand the jail by 512 beds with support systems at a cost of $225 million.  The expansion and updating of current facilities would carry the county to meeting needs through to 2039, as well as prepare options for future expansion.

“A year’s long -worth of work,” by consultants, Justice Planners, A&E Design and HDR Engineering, was presented to County Commissioners and other public officials last Wednesday. The consultants were engaged by the County Commissioners, at the recommendation of a County Attorney appointed sub-committee, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), made up of people representing various aspects of the community.

The consultants spent the past year looking at projections, assumptions on growth, options, the current condition of the facility, recommended options and staff analysis.

They looked at a 20 year projection for the YCDF and also at the youth facility (Youth Services Center) which was stated to be in dire need of updating, with the recommendation that the County consider doing so in the near future.

The proposed $225 million cost is a sobering one for County Commissioners, to whom Sheriff Mike Linder commented, “It’s a big ask of the county taxpayers.” Building such a facility would undoubtedly require asking taxpayers for additional tax levy and spending authority. But, the proposal comes as a result of years of overcrowded conditions at the jail, a situation that has often prevented jailing perpetrators of lesser crimes, which generated disrespect for law enforcement and complications throughout the entire judicial system. The current capacity of the YCDF is supposed to be 434 inmates, but its daily population invariably ranges between 600 and 630.

The study shows that total projected Average Daily Population, by 2049, would be 1,030. By 2049, 1,277 beds would be needed to operate the facility safely and what would be considered best practice. It recommends the addition of another 512 beds in 2049 to carry the facility through to its projected total operating capacity need of 1,552.

The $225 million proposal is one of ten options explored by the team of consultants, which projected estimated costs ranging from $48.3 million to $469 million. A&E Design CEO Dusty Eaton explained that the selected option would include the top priorities for the facility, in addition to increasing total capacity to 946 (including 12 medical beds + 82 short-term beds). He pointed out that the construction of a short-term facility that is currently underway, would bring total capacity for the county jail to 1,040, which is expected to accommodate inmate population through 2039.

Eaton said he didn’t think they could get the cost lower “without compromising safety,” adding, “We are spending money today to plan for the future.”

The proposed option includes $144,954,000 for new construction, almost $8 million for an addition and almost $4 million in renovations. It also includes the cost of relocating and rebuilding outside buildings that must be moved in order to make room for the addition to the YCDF, located on King Avenue East. Eaton said that there is not enough room at the current jail site to add the addition, without removing outside buildings such as the Evidence Building. The buildings will be moved across the street to county-owned property.

Eaton also commented, “The existing jail is aging but is in pretty good shape. It needs some investment and upkeep.”

Even without adding capacity, the consultants said the YCDF needs at least $9.5 million in improvements to deal with the most pressing problems.

Melissa Williams, Chief Civil Attorney, Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office, who served on the committee, pointed out that many of the instituted efforts by the judicial system in Yellowstone County to drive down the jail population, have shown evidence that they are working. For example, without the new Arraignment Court, the current jail population would be 70 more per day than it is now. These impacts have been calculated into the projections for the addition to the jail.

Building is one aspect of expansion, staffing is another. The consultants’ study also looked at those costs.

“You have to have a certain level of staff to be safe, you need to reduce overtime  – -to eliminate staff fatigue and burnout,” said Alan Richardson, founder and president of Justice Planners. Staffing numbers should be reviewed at every milestone, he recommended.

Current staffing at the YCDF is 111.5 FTEs (Full Time Equivalent employees). Recommended for a 1040 bed facility is 243 FTEs at an estimated cost of $18,748,952, annually.

The biggest challenge to staffing is finding and keeping good employees. Sheriff Linder noted that the YCDF is down only four staff members currently, which is the closest they have come to having a full staff in a number of years. He commented that every day, the staff at YCDF, perform Herculean efforts.

Sheriff Linder said the problem with jail over-capacity is that more inmates are staying longer in jail. He also noted that the vast majority of the criminals are local.

Linder also went on to ask that since it is ‘such a big ask’ of taxpayers, which they might reject, “Do we have another option? Do we have a Plan B?”

County Commissioners Mike Waters and Mark Morse recognized the “Herculean efforts” of the jail staff and expressed their appreciation.

Morse commented, that “a big issue that has to be dealt with at every level in the state is that of mental health” of some inmates. “It is one of the biggest problems,” the detention staff has to deal with. “Some are in the facility for as much as a year.” He said he doesn’t see anything “on the horizon” that would solve that problem.

Waters added, “The cost is enormous.” He also noted that the county has been tightening its belt and cutting other budgets in anticipation of the cost the jail expansion will bring.

In looking at the need for an updated Juvenile Center, the consultants recommended a 48-bed facility with support spaces including food service, laundry, staff support spaces, etc. The facility is planned to be a separate stand-alone facility of approximately 55,000 square feet including education services. The cost was projected at $59,336,253.