Johnson County Supervisors consider $3 million worth of repairs to existing jail and sheriff’s office

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is contemplating whether to move ahead with an estimated $3.3 million worth of repairs that will add a new roof, replace the HVAC system, exterior doors, improve drainage systems and stabilize the brick exterior of the county jail and sheriff’s office.

The repairs, which consultants estimate could be done within a year, do not address any of the space needs of the jail and sheriff’s office. County officials have said for years that the facility is overcrowded and unsafe for inmates and staff.

While the county has been exploring the feasibility of a new joint law enforcement facility with Iowa City, such a facility is likely still years away.

Before the county moves forward with the repairs, the supervisors want to compare the cost of exterior repairs with how much it would cost to close the building.

“I mean, the day these are all done, it’s still a building that doesn't work. And so I guess I just want to make sure that we're giving the public a really good look at the financial implications of both,” Supervisor Rod Sullivan said of the cost comparison.

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Maintenance costs of facility continue to rise

County Facilities Director Dave Curtis said the county has spent $115,000 on repairs to the facility this fiscal year, which began July 1, 2024.

In FY23, which ran from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, the county spent $120,000 on. The year after that, it spent $116,000. Among the repairs this year were replacing the building’s thermostats, which the county staff purchased off eBay because they were unable to find the parts elsewhere.

“I think it just speaks to the repairs that we're having to do are more expensive and parts are harder and harder to come by, ” said Curtis.

Staff have told supervisors the roof leaks every time it rains and the jail’s air conditioning system is past its useful life, which prompted the board to approve $36,500 worth of funding for the proposal to fix those issues.

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Cost associated with closing the facility difficult to quantify

The county has routinely housed inmates in other county jails due to capacity limits at the current facility, which has an operational capacity of 65.

Between 2021 and 2023, the county paid an average of $387,000 a year to house inmates out of county, according to county data. The county has yet to release data for 2024.

Sheriff Brad Kunkel said the county currently is averaging about 20 to 25 inmates being housed out of county at any given time, though that number fluctuates.

Estimates of how much it would cost to house all inmates out of county could change depending on whether other state facilities raise their costs.

“We'll need to make sure the jail inspector would be OK with us still operating this as like a temporary holding facility, because we still need a place to book people, house them overnight, to bring back for court. If that's not viable, then that's going to require broader communication with the cities about where (people who get arrested) are going to go and who's going to front the cost,” said Kunkel.

While all county inmates could theoretically be housed out of county, the jail is only half the building’s operations. If the building were to close, the county would need to find a place for the more than 100 employees who work in the sheriff’s office.

The county also would need to spend additional staff time transporting inmates to and from court. The county employs four part-time drivers whose time is solely spent transporting inmates between facilities and other staff will sometimes assist.

“I'm not very fond of the idea of closing the jail. I think that it’s a spiraling logistic nightmare … but it is an option. We have to weigh all options,” said Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz.

The board plans to continue discussing jail repairs at its work session Feb. 12.

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