06. ARPA policy authorization for Jail Addition

www.casscountynd.gov SLFRF Funding & Eligibility Summary Cass County Jail Housing Addition – Architectural Services October 10, 2022 Prepared by Robert Wilson, County Administrator I. Background: (General information about background and current state pre-COVID.) The Cass County Jail was constructed as a 248-bed facility in 2002 and expanded to the current 348- bed capacity in 2008. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the Cass County Jail had adequate housing capacity. Neither the Cass County Sheriff nor jail staff were recommending an increase in the number of housing units. According to a Jail Booking-Area Masterplan document prepared by Klein McCarthy Architects in January 2019 the average daily population was 252 inmates. That masterplan identified the increasing number of inmates being booked in and processed through the facility on a yearly basis as the sole growth factor that required attention. In response to the needs identified in the masterplan, a jail booking area expansion was designed and is currently under construction. This project is scheduled to be completed in late fall 2022. II. Impact of COVID-19: (How was background and current state was impacted by COVID) With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, additional jail housing units became an almost immediate need for Cass County. To maintain public health and public safety, incoming inmates and inmates suspected of being COVID-positive had to be single bunked and quarantined until their COVID status could be determined. Confirmed COVID-positive inmates required housing in negative air-flow areas or had to be grouped together in housing units that could not be utilized for other inmates. Housing units have a capacity of 48 inmates, with five of eight housing units being designed as double bunk or dormitory style housing, and nearly 80% of single bunk cells being used to house inmates that are not suitable for multiple occupancy cell placement for safety reasons involving significant mental illness, violent conduct, or vulnerability. The facility currently has four negative air-flow cells. Due to the housing design, any COVID-positive inmates beyond four must be housed in the immediate area of healthy inmates, which increases exposure risk. When any outbreaks of COVID positivity occur, a limited availability of regular airflow single bunk cells can only be addressed by reducing capacity in double bunk cells. As the pandemic entered a new phase in the last year, an additional direct effect has presented itself. To reduce the jail population during the height of the pandemic many individuals suspected of committing crimes who otherwise would have been arrested were given personal recognizance bonds and ordered to appear for their court hearings. This was done to create more space needed for social distancing within the jail. When the court system felt they could safely resume a court schedule, many of those who had been ordered to appear for court at a later date failed to appear. This created a sharp