Allamakee County Public Safety Center Task Committee hears profile report on inmates, lists options for jail

by Bob Beach

The Allamakee County Public Safety Center Task Committee met Thursday night, April 24 to review the inmate profile and analysis of the County Jail. Midwest Construction President John Hansen told the Committee that Steve McCoy of South Iowa Area Crime Commission completed the analysis but was unable to attend the meeting due to health problems.
Hansen said that the purpose of the analysis was to determine the average population and classifications of prisoners in order to determine the current and future needs of the jail. He said that current jail standards require the separation of different types of offenders into different areas of the jail, which is difficult to do in the current facility.
For example, he said that juveniles can't be housed with adults, males can't be housed with females and felons and violent offenders shouldn't be housed with non-violent offenders and misdemeanants.He explained that because of these standards, once a multiple-bed area is occupied by one classification of inmate only inmates of the same classification should be housed in that area, which in turn effects the overall capacity of the jail.
McCoy's analysis shows that from 2009 to 2013 the average daily population of the Allamakee County jail was between seven and nine inmates with an average length of stay of six to ten days. McCoy noted that during the same time period it was necessary to house prisoners in other jails outside the county for a total of 1,697 days primarily due to classification requirements, which would amount to an increase of one prisoner to the average daily population and an increase in one day of the average length of stay.
In his report, McCoy also pointed out that the jail population has been deliberately controlled by the Sheriff due to concerns about the increased liability in maintaining inmates. He also pointed out that it is currently difficult to accommodate court-ordered weekend sentences.
McCoy's analysis also included an examination of the cost of housing inmates out of the county, including housing and transportation costs. He estimated that if the Allamakee County Jail were to be closed, those costs could easily exceed $7.5 million.
Following a review of McCoy's finding, the Committee discussed the available options to address the problems with the current jail, which Sheriff Clark Mellick listed as:
• Continue with the current facility until it is forced to close by the State. Mellick noted that the inspection reports for the current facility are very similar to the reports received by jails in other counties that were closed. He said that eventual closure is "inevitable."
• Convert the current facility to a short-term holding facility. Mellick said that this option would increase transportation costs and that deputies would spend more time transporting prisoners and less time on patrol.
• Remodel the current facility to meet current jail standards. Hansen pointed out that such a remodeling job would be next to impossible and prohibitively expensive. With regard to a remodeling of the Makee Manor building, Hansen said that he could guarantee that he could build a new jail for less money than it would cost to remodel Makee Manor for use as a jail.
• Build a new jail. It was the consensus of the Committee that building a new jail appears to be least expensive option over time. The Committee directed Hansen to develop a two- to three-page fact sheet comparing the construction and operating costs of a new facility to the cost of the other available options.
The next meeting of the Committee is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room at Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank in Waukon.