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JUL 10 1999 "`�F <br />BOOK <br />Commissioner Bird questioned that because he was told that <br />there was only space provided to house 6 female prisoners, and he <br />did not feel that projection is realistic. <br />Commissioner Scurlock believed we specifically discussed <br />that issue in the planning stages, and he would like an answer <br />from the architects who were supposed to have the expertise in <br />that area. <br />Ron Sebring of Frizzell Architects stated that he could not <br />address the initial design because he wasn't around then. He <br />would assume, however, that someone ran a count on numbers of <br />prisoners, classifications, etc. He did know that this Jail was <br />master planned for several phases and also knew that the prisoner <br />population has been a very difficult number to pin down. <br />Commissioner Scurlock noted that we hired professionals <br />based on the presentation made to us and thought we had the best, <br />but those skills apparently were off base in light of what <br />actually did occur. <br />Chairman Wheeler hated to see either the architectural firm <br />or the County taking a bum rap. The recommendation originally <br />made by the Committee and the architect was to do all 3 phases at <br />once, but we chose to go one at a time. If we had all three <br />phases completed now, we wouldn't have an overcrowding problem. <br />Another factor is that the Legislature changed the sentencing <br />guidelines which dramatically changed the function of the County <br />Jail, and we went from having 90% misdemeanors to 90% unsentenced <br />felons. We actually have turned our County Jail into a County <br />supported state prison, and that's our problem. <br />Commissioner Scurlock believed one basic problem was that <br />when this was phased, no provisions were made for having cables <br />from one phase to another. Phasing to him says each phase should <br />be compatible with the next; our architect completely left that <br />planning out; and it cost us additional dollars. We have had <br />significant problems and have relied on experts to come up with <br />answers, and they have failed in a number of cases. He believed <br />30 <br />M <br />