Anderson County Jail Expansion Underway

Construction for the first phase of the Anderson County Jail expansion project began in late January and should be finished in June.
Anderson County commissioners unanimously approved the construction manager at risk, SEDALCO, to proceed to construction during a special meeting. They also approved SEDALCO’s “guaranteed maximum price” of $1.16 million as the cost for the first phase of the project.
Jeff Pittman, director of criminal justice projects with SEDALCO, told commissioners that price is lower than originally had been estimated.
Pittman also presented a list of recommended subcontractors for the project, noting there was “some good local representation.”
In May 2005, Anderson County voters approved a $9.95 million bond election for the entire jail expansion project.
The first phase of the project is the construction of the jail’s kitchen, which county leaders have said they want to use as temporary bed space so the county can more quickly bring back inmates currently housed in other counties and save money being spent out of the county.
To avoid overcrowding and to stay in compliance with state jail standards, Anderson County began farming out inmates in July 2004. Officials have said anywhere from about 30 to more than 60 inmates a day have been housed in other counties. The daily cost for each inmate has gone up from $40 to $42 because of the increased cost of fuel.
“We just need (the temporary bed space) up and in place as soon as we can,” County Judge Carey McKinney said. “We can bring (the inmates) all back, and that will cut some of our expense there.”
The number of inmates being housed out of the county has decreased, though, McKinney said. The district attorney’s office and the courts and sheriff’s office have worked to get the jail population down.
Officials have previously said the new jail addition will include 200 beds with support facilities, which would accommodate up to 600 beds if future expansion is needed. That is in addition to about 100 beds that will remain at the county’s existing jail, bringing the total bed count to about 300.
The project has a target completion date of June 2007.
By Megan Middleton, reprinted with permission from the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Jan. 19, 2006