Temporary inmate housing needed

Inmate overcrowding at the Spartanburg County jail has county officials looking for temporary inmate housing. Despite plans to build a new jail, County Administrator Ken Westmoreland said a growing inmate population and resulting overcrowding problems will require the county to obtain temporary jail space, probably within the next six months. "We just can't go another three years," Westmoreland said.

It will take 2 1/2 to three years to construct a new county jail, which consultants estimate will cost $16.8 million. "I feel, after discussing it with (jail director Larry Powers), that there is a sense of stress beyond the normal now," Westmoreland said. "We've had so many things happen over the past few weeks, and we feel that the overcrowding was a contributing factor."

Among the recent incidents at the jail, he said, was the escape of a trusty. Westmoreland said the daily inmate population ranges between 180 and 200, but about 40 of the inmates are housed at the Spartanburg City Jail under a contractual agreement. The maximum capacity of the county jail is 82 inmates, according to state Department of Corrections standards. The jail population has exceeded the rated capacity since the standards were set in 1980. In semiannual inspections, the Department of Corrections' repeatedly has cited the jail for overcrowding, but state officials have taken no action while the county plans a new jail.

Westmoreland and Powers visited a Greenville company that builds temporary jail cells, similar to double-wide mobile homes. The visits, however, were only to gather information, Westmoreland said. Each cell holds 12 to 15 inmates and costs between $150,000 and $200,000. Westmoreland said the county would need cells for 40 to 50 inmates.

Westmoreland said he has received information from Tindall Concrete Products, which builds prefabricated, modular jail cells, but the cells are designed for permanent facilities. He said he plans to study all options available to the county.

In addition to the purchase cost, the county must consider the cost of staffing, operating and transporting inmates to and from the temporary jail, Westmoreland said. There is no money in the county budget appropriated for purchasing or operating a temporary jail.

Meanwhile, the county is proceeding with plans to construct a new jail. The County Council was scheduled yesterday to discuss hiring an architect to design the facility and oversee construction but made no decision. After it selects an architect, the council will face the decision of funding the jail construction. With more than $31 million in long-term capital needs and a bond capacity of $20 million, the council will have to consider other financing options for some projects.

Also, since a recent report outlined the $31 million in capital projects, several other agencies funded by the county have indicated that they need major capital construction projects. Councilman Danny Allen asked Westmoreland yesterday to obtain written reports from all the agencies funded by the county outlining their five-year capital needs. "If we're going to plan for the future of the county, we have to know what the needs are," Allen said.

In other business, the council delayed discussion on a single-member district election system until all council members are present. Councilmen David Dennis and Skip Corn were absent yesterday. Council members rescheduled the discussion on the four pending single-member district proposals for a briefing session before their regular meeting next week.