Davis is ready to roll on jail expansion

FARMINGTON — Years of planning are finally falling into place at the Davis County Jail.

Construction of a $24.8 million expansion could begin as early as June, Davis County Sheriff Chief Deputy Kevin McLeod said. Earlier this week, seven contractors toured the existing facility and are expected to submit their official bids soon. McLeod said Sheriff Bud Cox wants to select a contractor by the first of February.

"We want to get it done early," McLeod said. "It puts the architect and contractor together early on so they are working together instead of a design or plan being made and then having things change."

Before selection can happen, county commissioners must approve the sale and authorize the issuance of $24.8 million of bonds. A special commission meeting will be held Monday at 2:30 p.m. in room 126 at the Memorial Courthouse Building.

Voters recently approved a tax hike to pay for the expansion of the overcrowded jail, the only tax issue Davis County voters approved in the November election.

Since it was built, the jail has experienced serious overcrowding problems, McLeod said. Double-bunking, prisoners sleeping in hallways and regular breakdowns are some of the problems of trying to run a jail that was built for 192 inmates but often holds more than 500.

"It's an eye-opening experience," Davis County Commissioner Dannie McConkie said. "Crowded? Doggone, well, we just can't turn people loose."

In an effort to cut jail expansion costs, officials might use 2-inch-thick steel walls to separate inmates. Davis County Sheriff's Office officials recently toured an immigration jail in Tacoma, Wash., that uses a slim steel-wall system. Typical jail walls are 4 inches thick, McLeod said.

McLeod said officials are currently researching to see if the system is a good alternative for the Davis County Jail expansion, as the steel walls could possibly cut construction costs and shrink the size of the jail.

"We certainly want to have a good facility when it's done, we're not just looking at the cheapest way to do it," McLeod said. "But, if something is new and it works real well and it can be a cost savings, we certainly want to look at it."

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