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| Inmates not your Typical neighbor |
| By Damian Mann , Mail Tribune, mailtribune.com |
| Published: 05/12/2011 |
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When ceiling panels start bulging with wastewater, sheriff's deputies have learned to quickly cover sensitive files, computer equipment and desks. The water is not from an accidental leak, but from plumbing clogged a couple of times a year by an unruly inmate overhead in the Jackson County Jail at 787 West Eighth St. "We've learned to place tarps over everything," said Undersheriff Rod Countryman. "We've been putting up with it for 30 years." By next year, however, deputies and other staff will move into new administrative offices in north Medford and turn the basement area over to the inmates, which was what the space was originally designed for. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department will remodel its old offices into 60 more jail beds and will move out of its cramped, 8,900-square-foot headquarters in downtown Medford to a new 30,000-square-foot facility at 5179 Crater Lake Highway. The total jail capacity will handle 290 prisoners after the remodel. In the next few months, the county will seek bids to remodel the former River City RV property, purchased last year for $3.3 million. The Jackson County Budget Committee has approved spending up to $8.5 million for the renovation in the 2011-12 budget by using money saved for building improvements. Jackson County commissioners Tuesday reviewed the design concepts of the new building. Deputies and clerks have long expressed frustration about the basement offices. They've used pencils to poke a hole in the ceiling panels to drain the wastewater so they can guide it away from desks and the file cabinets that fill the overcrowded hallways and offices. The wastewater is usually just the gray kind, filled with orange peels and other kitchen waste, not the black kind — though that was a problem in the past. Sheriff's deputies are understandably not thrilled about the idea of living under the inmates, Countryman said. Construction should begin by late summer on a building that will include sheriff administration, the patrol division and most of search and rescue. Placing the sheriff's headquarters on Highway 62 will position it more strategically in the center of the county to handle emergencies, and deputies won't have to fight downtown traffic. In preparation for an expanded jail, the county is building a sally port and booking area that will reduce turnaround time for local law enforcement agencies. A statewide transfer bus also will be able to make more secure prisoner exchanges. Countryman said the Crater Lake Highway building will make the department more efficient. Evidence spread out in various locations will be consolidated. Detectives will be able to work more closely with crime analysts, clerks will have better coordination with patrol units and search and rescue will be based out of the north Medford location instead of in White City. The Sheriff's Department plans to retain a small substation in White City. Countryman said work on the sally port area also has inconvenienced deputies downstairs. Last week, a pipe fell through the drop ceiling, glancing off a deputy's leg, he said. County Administrator Danny Jordan said it is a lot cheaper to remodel an existing building than to build one from scratch. He said the remodel will cost about $180 per square foot, compared to $300 to $350 for a new structure. By comparison, the new 9-1-1 center near the airport cost $380 per square foot, he said. The sheriff's building also will be designed to house other county offices in an emergency, such as during an earthquake. The county owns about 100 buildings, including the Jackson County Courthouse, identified as vulnerable in an earthquake. The design of the headquarters will allow better coordination between different departments within the sheriff's offices. Detectives will work closely with evidence handlers and clerks will work more closely with patrol deputies. Also, a public area will be improved to keep services offered to local residents separated from work being conducted by deputies and other staff. The main reason for the changes, Jordan said, is to increase jail capacity without having to construct a whole new jail. Cost to remodel the basement into a new jail is estimated at $1.5 million. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476, or email dmann@mailtribune.com. Click here to read more: |
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