LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre announced what he calls the "most important step" in the process to build a new county jail.
On Tuesday, county commissioners will vote on a $340,000 contract with Poggemeyer Design Group out of Bowling Green to conduct an analysis and four-part study on what is needed in a new jail, including location.
Sheriff Navarre stressed the new facility will only house pretrial inmates, or those awaiting a trial and not those that have already been sentenced. He also assured citizens that it can be financed without a tax increase and wants it to be centrally located in downtown Toledo. In fact, they are looking closely at the current home of the Toledo-Lucas County health department on N. Erie Street as a viable location.
The project being proposed is smaller than a new jail proposal from 2018, which held an estimated price tag of $180 million and would've housed sentenced inmates as well. Officials say that is why a new assessment is needed before they move forward with planning and cost.
The new facility could cost roughly $100 million, down from the larger jail project from a few years ago that was estimated at around $180 million.
Poggemeyer's study will take around seven months to complete and will look at four key areas:
- Population - who will make up the jail
- Programming - including how many units are needed to house inmates and how services will be offered (either centralized in one spot onsite or decentralized with each inmate module having its own)
- Rough cost estimates
- Site analysis for possible locations
Sheriff Navarre says the new facility will follow best modern practices in inmate management and will be safer for both inmates and employees.
"It will operate a lot more efficiently," he said. "It won't require as many personnel and that will result in considerable personnel savings."
The presumed savings come from a switch in how inmates would be managed.
The current jail only supports traditional or indirect supervision, with rows of small cells and semi-frequent checks by guards.
The newer method of direct supervision has inmates in common areas most of the day and officers directly with them 24/7.
One of the sites earmarked for review is the current site of the Toledo-Lucas County health department.
"We really like the health department site because of its proximity to downtown courts and a tunnel system that already exists," Navarre said.
Matt Heyrman, Deputy County Administrator, said the site looks viable but the study will take a hard look at it.
“We’re not announcing that we’re building a new jail,” said Heyrman. “I think everyone in this community knows this facility needs to be replaced, and this is the next logical step.”
Heyman says once the study is complete, there should be a project completion time of 2025-26.
A previous proposal that would have seen a new jail built on N. Detroit Ave. near Alexis Rd. was scuttled when a levy to build on the site was turned down in November 2018.
In February 2019 a "Keep the Jail Downtown" ballot initiative passed handily, limiting where the new jail could be constructed.
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