If voters approve an expansion of the Brazos County Jail, it will likely cost the county $55 million for 684 new beds, an architect said Tuesday during a special meeting of the Commissioners Court.
Atlanta-based architectural firm Rosser International has been working on drawings for the expansion of the Sandy Point Road facility for more than a month, and the task is about 75 percent finished, said William Golson Jr., a vice president of the company.
Commissioners hired the firm in June after concurring with Sheriff Chris Kirk that jail overcrowding needs to be alleviated.
County Judge Randy Sims said at the time that no price had been set for the expansion but that he did not expect it to be less than $40 million - a figure likely to raise the property tax rate by about 2 cents per $100 valuation by the 2009 fiscal year.
People are also reading…
Such a project would require a bond issue, which would have to be approved by voters during a special election in November. Commissioners have until Sept. 5 to announce the election and have been waiting to do so until final plans for the expansion are approved.
Of the $55 million price tag mentioned Tuesday by the architectural firm, about $45 million would go into building three "pods" containing the new beds. Another $10 million in "soft costs" would go toward items such as furnishings, fixtures and computer systems, Golson said.
The expansion is expected to include 150,000 square feet of new space containing the pods - one for the general male population, one for females and another for special populations, such as inmates whose behavior necessitates their being separated from others. The pods would connect to the existing structure.
Golson said his firm is pushing to have a complete design and price available for commissioners by Aug. 30, giving them about five days to announce the special election.
One aspect of the design Golson touted to the commissioners Tuesday was that the pods aren't expected to have windows, making the building "a little bit more normal- looking."
"It doesn't have the slits [for windows] a jail usually has," he said, explaining that inmates will instead get light through skylights and outside recreation areas surrounded on all sides by the building.
At the end of the presentation, Sheriff Kirk said the design seemed to be "as efficient as we can get." Several commissioners agreed.
"I think it's a real good design, and hopefully it will serve Brazos County for many years to come," Commissioner Kenny Mallard said.
Voters last approved a county bond issue in 2000, when they agreed to issue $18.5 million in debt to build the Expo Center. That facility is expected to hold its first event this week.
• Craig Kapitan's e-mail address is craig.kapitan@theeagle.com.
