Limestone County to Expand Detention Facility

Limestone County has launched an expansion project that will likely add some 240 beds to the county detention facility.
The county has partnered with private prison operator CiviGenics for the project, which also includes infrastructure improvements and the addition of a new kitchen, infirmary and classrooms.
The detention center, run by CiviGenics, houses inmates from the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, and inmates from 18 other Texas counties. This facility is not operated in connection with the Limestone County Jail.
The project, which will cost some $7.5 million, will bring the Limestone County Detention Center’s inmate capacity to more than 1,000. The project design will allow for the eventual housing of 2,000 inmates. Limestone County and CiviGenics are splitting the cost of the project.
The county is expanding the detention center, built in 1990, with the hopes of obtaining a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said Limestone County Judge Elenor Holmes. The county already is benefiting financially from leasing inmate beds to other agencies, Holmes said. The current contracts to house inmates at the detention center bring about $1.5 million annually into the county coffers, and the facility creates nearly 130 jobs. The proposed expansion will create an additional 20 to 30 positions.
In September 2005, Limestone County agreed to house 400 inmates from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The state will pay $40 per inmate housed at the detention center, and the county will receive $8.50 per inmate.
This revenue is particularly beneficial to Limestone County, as legislation passed in the 1940s prohibits the county from selling bonds or borrowing money, Holmes said.
The detention center, the largest correctional facility operated by CiviGenics, is a six-building complex located on 338 acres.
Julie Anderson, Editor