NEW JAIL FOR SCOTT SCRAPPED; SHERIFF'S OFFICE INSTEADY MAY MOVE

BENTON -- Scott County commissioners have ruled out building a new jail and sheriff's office at this time, arguing that it's unlikely voters would approve a new tax to fund it.

But Presiding Commissioner Durward Dover said county officials are studying an alternate plan, which calls for purchasing the county health center building in Benton for use as the sheriff's office.

The health center building is located across the street from the sheriff's office, which is currently in an old house next to the jail. The jail and the house were built in 1932.

If the sheriff's office is relocated, the old house would be torn down and the site made into a parking lot, said Dover.

Officials are also talking of building an addition for storage of records and evidence in a fire-proof vault.

Sheriff Bill Ferrell said Friday that the addition could be built onto the health center building.

But in the county's 1991 budget message, County Clerk Bob Kielhofner talked of "constructing an addition" to the existing jail.

Kielhofner said it's estimated that a new jail and sheriff's office would cost between $3.5 and $5 million, depending on whether the jail was built to hold 75 or 100 prisoners.

Currently, the old jail can house a maximum of 48 prisoners.

Kielhofner wrote, "This improvement could only be accomplished with a local sales tax increase voted by the people. There is no capital improvement reserve fund available."

Kielhofner noted that acquisition of the health center building would require approval from the center's five-member board of trustees.

Dover said the county health operation is funded with a special tax levy. "Their main operation now is in Sikeston," he noted.

"The county board operates that," explained Dover. "It has nothing to do with the county commission or county government."

In the budget message, Kielhofner wrote: "The commission feels a sales tax increase for a $3.5 to $5 million construction project would not pass a vote of the people at this time and is reluctant to mount a campaign at this time."

On the other hand, he said, the purchase of the health center and construction of an addition would "possibly" cost $500,000.

"It's a bad time to ask for a tax increase," said Dover.

He said the jail doesn't meet current state and federal standards.

Both Dover and Ferrell said it would be too costly to even add onto the existing jail because the entire facility would have to be brought up to current standards.

"We would need to start from scratch," said Dover.

"It would be cheaper to start over," agreed Ferrell.

He said a new sheriff's office is desperately needed.

"It would be a big help to us," said Ferrell. "It (the house) is collapsing around our ears."

Flooring in the house has sagged. "The basement has water in it all the time. We are unable to use the basement at all," the sheriff noted.

The house is heated by an old boiler system that once heated both the house and jail. "It's an old, old system.

"We have radiators in the building, some of them work and some of them don't," said Ferrell.

The shortage of space is so severe that some files are being stored in a bathtub in the house.

He noted there is no fire-proof place to keep records in the office. "Our real fear is that a fire over here would destroy our records."

County officials, with the aid of a jail consultant, explored the possibility of constructing a new jail last year.

While county officials are not considering building a new jail at this time, Ferrell said that eventually a new facility will have to be built.

"The longer we wait, the more it is going to cost," he noted.

Ferrell said the jail is "really in pretty good shape" from a physical standpoint. But he said the facility is too small and cannot easily accommodate different types of prisoners.

"It's a very secure jail, but it's a maximum security jail," he noted. Persons facing less-serious crimes often must be put in the same cells with those charged with more serious offenses.

Ferrell said the jail is regularly at capacity and some prisoners have to be shipped to other county jails. But, he noted, that increasingly other county jails are filling up and don't have a lot of room to handle prisoners from surrounding counties.

Even so, the sheriff said it's hard to sell taxpayers on the need for a new jail because "nobody wants to see someone have a country-club situation when they are supposed to be punished."

In addition, Ferrell said, construction of a new jail will require a larger staff and, as a result, will cost more to operate.