Stephanie Croston

    Seward County is taking steps toward a new jail, but the current debate is over the facility itself.
     Discussions early in the process centered around a 100-bed facility, but during an April 22 meeting between the Seward County Commissioners and Martin Berglund of DLR Group, some commissioners wondered if the county needs 100 beds in its jail.
     "I don't know if we can sell it," Commissioner Joe Ruzicka said.
     He suggested a 40- to 50-bed facility, built on to the existing jail, with the option to expand later. The addition would be phased over five to 10 years.
     "We have the land once we move Extension," he said.
     Emergency management and E-911 communications offices would be put in the new section, giving the sheriff's office room to expand. A secure parking lot would be available for staff.
     "I hate to throw anything away," Ruzicka said.
     Commissioner Darrell Miller said he prefers a 50-bed facility added on to the existing building, as well. He suggested using the old jail more for offices.
     He also suggested a four- to five-bed juvenile area if it is cost effective. Terry Kamprath, jail administrator, said juveniles may only be held six hours without seeing the judge. They must be supervised and held in area completely separate from the adult inmates.
     Sheriff Joe Yocum was not 100-percent behind the idea of adding juvenile detention space.
     "That could take on a life of its own," he said.
     Seward County has a contract with Lancaster County to house juveniles. It costs $255 to $275 per day to house a juvenile, Yocum said. Adults cost $55 to $75 per day.
     Commissioner Scott Stuhr said he understood scaling down the project from 100 beds to 50 but added that he didn't want to limit the county's future options.
     "I have a big concern with revamping the current jail. There are a lot of issues, and I don't know if it's worth it," he said.
     Stuhr said the county should make sure a new jail could be expanded, building kitchen facilities and infrastructure to handle a larger population.
     "We need to make sure we can grow into it," he said.
     Commissioner Larry Dedic reminded the board that if changes are made to the existing building, it will then have to meet regulations set by the Board of Jail Standards. The current jail, built in 1978, is grandfathered in.
     Yocum said legislation has been passed requiring interviews of some suspects to be recorded on both video and audio. The current jail does not have a place where that can be done.
     He suggested putting a room in the jail's basement that would be used for those interviews. According to the legislation, the room "has to be at the place of incarceration," Yocum said.
     Adding office space would be nice, he said, saying "we are bursting at the seams in the front office."
     Berglund, whose firm was hired to design a new jail for the county, said the county should also add an area for video arraignments and consultations.
     He said he hopes to have a budget finalized by August, 2008, with construction to begin in September or October of 2009 and to be completed in November, 2010. The county could then start using the building in January, 2011.