Media Buzz
County judge approaches Grayson County College trustees about donating land for new county jail
DENISON — For months now, Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum has spent time talking to various groups about the need for additional jail space in the county.
Tuesday, Bynum returned to a familiar place, Grayson County College, to once again discuss the jail issue.
In past appearances before GCC board trustees, Bynum has discussed economic development at the airport. This time, he wanted to talk about what putting the jail at the airport might do to that economic development and how some land owned by the college might help the county meet its twin goals of increasing jail space and improving the economic outlook at the North Texas Regional Airport at Perrin Field.
Trustees listened to Bynum’s explanation of what the county might need in terms of land for a privately owned facility and peppered him with questions about other options being considered by the county.
Bynum’s talk, for the most part, ran along the same lines as the ones he has given in seven town hall meetings about the jail. He discussed the fact that the current jail is out of space and in bad repair. He also told GCC personnel about the impending revocation of a variance the state jail commission granted the county jail. And, he talked about the desire, on his part, to use a public-private partnership to keep the cost of the new jail from hitting tax payers in their wallets.
Bynum said he would love to see the college consider giving the county some land that the college is not currently using. The county would then use that land to negotiate a deal that would allow the county to pay less per day for any county inmate housed in the jail that would be built, with private funds, on that land.
Bynum stressed that he is continuing to look at the possibility of locating the jail at the airport because it was one of the spots originally designated by the consulting group the county hired to look at the jail situation. “We are going to look at all of the options,” Bynum told the group. He said he considers it his job to be able to go to the commissioners, and the public, and say that every avenue has been considered.
Still, he admitted that wants to see the county go with a plan that involves private financing to keep the tax payers from having to pay to increase the size of the jail. Getting free land at the airport would help that happen, he said.
When trustees questioned why the county didn’t use its own land at the airport, Bynum said the answer is simple. The land that the college owns doesn’t sit as close to the runway as the county property does.
Building the jail on the county property, Bynum said, might (his emphasis) mean that some companies that might have otherwise looked at the airport would go somewhere else.
Bynum noted that the college has some land behind the Viticulture Building that would be a good place for the jail. He said 50 acres would be great for a jail built to accommodate up to 1,500 inmates.
Trustees asked why the county needed to build such a large jail when the county doesn’t need that many beds. Bynum explained that a private company would have to build many more beds than Grayson County needs to be able to make a profit off the jail. He said the additional beds then would be offered to other entities at prices above what Grayson County would pay.
Trustees wanted to know if the county had considered just building to suit its needs and not worrying about the private funding. Bynum said all options have been considered, but he doesn’t want to see tax payers foot the bill for the jail.
As he has in previous meetings with other groups, Bynum said if the county built its own jail, it could cost county taxpayers as much as 30 cents more for taxes. However, college personnel questioned that number. They reasoned that the college had just passed $44.79 million in bonds which costs the tax payer about five cents in increased taxes. They wondered why the tax increase wouldn’t be closer to 15 cents?
Bynum said his numbers were preliminary and were based on figures he received from other county officials on what it would cost to borrow the money. He said certainly those numbers would have to be confirmed before things went forward.
He also said even if the college decided to give the college the land, studies would still have to be conducted to see if it fit the needs for the jail.
Although college personnel had put an executive session on the agenda so the trustees could consider the matter of land for the jail, they did not convene one. College President Alan Scheibmeir said a decision about the county’s request might be something to consider for the next board meeting.
He said the college has to look at what purpose the land might serve for the college, both now and in the future, and if giving it the county might be a better use of the land. Both entities, Scheibmeir and Bynum agreed, have the same tax base, so they want to see money spent as wisely as possible. And, they want to see resources used in the best possible way. Maybe, Scheibmeir reasoned, giving the land to the county would be the best use of it since the college is not currently using it. However, maybe it would better for the college to hold on to it until it becomes more lucrative if the airport does expand as planned. Trustees are expected to get more information about the subject at a future meeting.
Sherman City Council makes bid to keep county jail within city limits
SHERMAN — Carefully weighing their words and explaining their assumptions, Sherman City Council voted to allow Black Knight access to land in Southeast Sherman to study its suitability for a correctional facility. Meeting Monday, councilors approved an agreement with Black Knight in behalf of the county to have that access for 360 days. Councilor Curt Hughes abstention was the only non “Aye” vote.
Talking about the Black Knight agreement, Sherman Mayor Bill Magers said, “This topic has generated quite a bit of conversation over the past week. I want to stress that as a council we are not taking a stand on a new jail, but as the jail has been in Sherman for the past umpteen gillion years, we’d like to keep it that way.”
Evidently there were several people in the audience interested in the issue because Magers referred to them.
Black Knight (in this case BKCFP,) is advising Grayson County Commissioners Court on the issues surrounding private parties locating, building and running a private correctional facility. The court has not decided how it will proceed in replacing the existing county jail. Magers said he would not read the entire agreement, but explained it allowed access to the property to study the site as a potential location for a correctional facility.
It does not give any exclusive rights to the county or Black Knight regarding the property. “It just allows the county to do due diligence,” Magers said.
Councilor Chip Adami asked City Attorney Doreen McGookey if the agreement could be terminated early if the county decides in less than 360 days that the site is not suitable. She said yes.
Councilor Joe N. Smith asked McGookey if the agreement could be assigned to some other party with the council’s agreement and she replied it could not.
“I agree with the mayor,” Smith said. “I agree that we should do everything we can to keep the jail in Sherman and that it is an important issue.”
The land at issue is located at Dewey Avenue (or State Highway 11) and Ida Road (or FM 697.) Hughes said he represents that portion of the city and lives closest to this location.
“I agree that it should stay in Sherman, but as we go through the 360 days I will have some questions about that location,” Hughes said.
Adami asked Magers to bring the public up to speed on the council’s position.
“It’s been a big part of the history of Sherman’s downtown district to be served by county courthouses, and the federal courthouse and justice center,” Magers said. “The county is looking at the county airport and some other areas outside the city limits and, while we know the county seat can’t move outside Sherman, I’m concerned that moving it out far west to the city limits or at the airport would encourage development of business in that area to move out of the Central Business District.”
He said McKinney is having such a problem, with lawyers moving out of downtown.
“But I understand the concerns of those who live there (at the southeast Sherman site) about having this near them,” Magers said. “I would have the same concerns if I lived there.”
County Judge Drue Bynum thanked the council and said, “This is a tough decision to make and we can’t make a decision until we have the numbers. But I as well as you guys have been inundated with phone calls and I can’t answer the questions until we have some answers. I have done a lot of due diligence so far and I think it makes a lot of sense for it to remain in Sherman. We signed a letter of intent with Black Knight this morning … to talk with private operators to see what the numbers look like.”
Black Knight also has a request before Sherman Economic Development Corp., for up to $200,000 in funding to explore the site and perhaps $2 million in economic development incentives to build a correctional facility that could hold 1,500 prisoners or more.
Grayson County Commissioners vote to give Black Knight Partners the authority to negotiate with private corrections providers for new jail
SHERMAN — Grayson County Commissioners Monday approved a letter that gave Black Knight Partners the power to negotiate with private corrections providers to possibly build a new jail in the county.
The letter, Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum said, is intended to allow the county’s economic growth partner, “Something to say that we are for real,” when talking to people who are in the corrections business. Bynum said the letter doesn’t lock the county into anything with regard to a possible location for the jail or financing options. He said the numbers that he has seen have shown him that a private provider can do the job less expensively than the county could manage.
Commissioner Johnny Waldrip said “We are going to have to do something to make a decision. We pretty well know what it is going to cost if we do it ourselves and float a bond … going to about (a) 30-cent tax increase.”
After hearing once again the letter does not bind the county to either Black Knight or a specific location or financing option for the jail, Commissioner David Whitlock moved they approve the letter and Waldrip seconded it. All of the commissioners voted in favor of the matter.
Next, commissioners looked at the issue of finding a building for an emergency operations center. Bynum told commissioners the proposed deal to buy the former Social Security Building is finished. He also explained his hope that the county can work with the city of Sherman to acquire the use of a Sherman building for the EOC.
“I would like the Court’s permission to go forward and look at (any buildings Sherman might have to fit the bill),” Bynum said. Commissioners David Whitlock and Jackie Crisp said they saw nothing wrong with the judge looking at buildings. Commissioner Short noted that Bynum would have to come back to the rest of the Court before he could enter into any agreements about a building. With that, commissioners approved his request.
Commissioners also agreed that the Grayson County Regional Mobility Authority will oversee the North Texas Tollway project when it comes through the county. RMA Director Jerdy Gary said it was his understanding that the group was formed, at least in part, to see the county through the expansion of the North Texas Tollway. Commissioners agreed and no one voted against the measure.
GC Jail discussed
This is the second in a series of two stories on a town hall forum held Tuesday about the proposed new Grayson County Jail.
By Kathy Williams
Herald Democrat
Should Grayson County build a new jail? How big should it be? What alternatives should the county consider to reduce the jail population? Should a private firm build and run the jail?
Those who filled the Center for Workplace Learning Tuesday asked these and many more questions about a proposed $96 million jail designed to hold at least 1,000 prisoners. Grayson County Commissioners Court has said it does not believe taxpayers would vote to build the jail, which could add 30 cents per $100 property valuation to tax bills. So commissioners are looking at a private company to build it, and perhaps to run it.
A $140,000 study the court commissioned recommended changes and efficiencies in the county’s criminal justice system. These improvements could significantly reduce the jail population. However, the study concluded that even if the county adopted all those suggestions, the current jail is in poor condition and the county still would need to add maximum security cells.
Although Tuesday’s event was part of a series of forums the Grayson County Democratic Party has sponsored in recent years, the panel consisted of Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum and Sheriff Keith Gary, both Republicans; former sheriff Jack Driscoll, a Democrat; Brandon Wood, a representative of the State Jail Commission; and Glenn Melancon, a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and probable Democratic candidate for U.S. representative.
Some in the crowd were county jail staff members. They worried aloud that a private firm would not pay as well as the county does. They also voiced concerns about their retirement plans and other benefits if a private firm comes in.
Some questioned the wisdom of privatizing the jail. They said they feared a private group would be beyond public accountability. Private businesses that run prisons — particularly The Geo Group Inc. which has been mentioned as a possible firm to run the county would contract to run the jail — have come under fire recently.
Texas Youth Commission, a state agency, closed Coke County Juvenile Center in West Texas, citing squalid conditions and is conducting a criminal investigation of Geo, its operator. The state also canceled the $8 million annual contract it has held with Geo since 1996, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Melanon, in a handout at the meeting, stated that the Miami Herald reported that the state of Florida has accused Geo Group of over-billing and breaking its Sunshine (open government) Laws for not turning over audit records, lawsuit billings and court injunctions.
Tulsa County, Okla. contracted with Corrections Corporation of America to run its jail. The costs rose 42 percent from 2001 to 2005 and the county now has decided to avoid the $3.7 million budget deficit the increases created and run the jail itself, Melanon’s handout states.
Responding to jailers’ questions, Gary said that no contract could be entered with a private business unless he signed off on it.
And, he said, he wouldn’t do that unless the company agreed to hire all current jail staff at current salaries. However, he explained after further questions, a private firm would not be able to offer the state pension fund they have all paid into. It would have its own.
Others in the crowd said they concerned that when a private company needed additional workers, they would not pay enough to attract high quality professionals. Bynum said private businesses would be aware of what the labor market commanded in this area and would pay competitive wages and benefits.
The county has hired private consultant Herb Bristow of Waco to help negotiate a contract between the county and a private firm. Gary and Bynum agreed that the county cannot contract its liability for ensuring a constitutionally run jail. And Gary said that the county could still run the jail even it looked to a private company to build it.
Another aspect of private jails that worried some was the prospect it would lobby for rules that would increase jail populations to raise profit. Some questioned whether it would be more effective to spend money the jail would cost on prevention and treatment programs and the alternative strategies outlined in the study.
Melanon’s handout summarized those measures, and congratulated the Grayson County Commissioners Court and District Attorney’s Office for already implementing some of them. The county has hired special prosecutors to improve the efficiency of the courts.
The district clerk and district attorney’s offices are coordinating better to get those convicted and sentenced to state prisons out of county jails sooner. Improved information technology also has helped to relieve overcrowding. Also, the county has revamped its court coordinators system. And two of the state district judges have developed drug courts.
The jail study the county commissioned says pretrial detainees (those who have not been convicted) comprise the majority of inmates in the jail at 73.2 percent. It recommends measures to reduce their stays or divert non violent offenders to other programs.
Among those measures are to create or increase use of citation release (also called field release,) pretrial release program, electronic monitoring, day reporting program, inmate case management and a case expediter, drug court, mental health court, community service work program, in-jail work program, weekend DWI program and a re-entry program.
Several audience members questioned whether Grayson County has an unacceptably high percentage of its population in jail.
Tim McGraw, who was county judge in 2005 when the study was commissioned, said, he didn’t want to make any kind of judgment, but the consultant that did the study did not have data to look at efficiencies of the justice system and state district courts at the time.
“It’s the sheriff’s problem in the jail (overcrowding,) but he inherits it from the felony courts. It’s the felons in jail that we don’t have space for,” McGraw said. “The sheriff has no way of decreasing and influencing that … one of the things that shows that is you have Collin County that has a population that’s four times the size of Grayson and has around 750-800 prisoners. We’re a fourth their size and have about 400 prisoners. I don’t think we have that many extra criminals in Grayson County.”
Although McGraw was speaking off the cuff and without notes, he did not exaggerate the statistics. In fact, Collin County’s estimated 2006 population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau is about 700,000. Grayson County’s estimated 2006 population is 118,000. A check with Collin County Jail Administrator and Chief Deputy Randy Clark revealed that Collin County, which is projected to have a population of a million by 2011, just increased the size of its jail to 1,298 total beds. Friday morning’s prisoner census was 930.
Clark cautioned about considering the size of the jail to build based on as simplistic a calculation as relative population size. He said all kinds of things factor into the needs for jail space. He said Grayson County is poised to experience the kind of explosive growth that Collin County has endured in the past 15 years.
Whatever capacity jail Grayson builds, Clark recommended that it over-size and plan for plenty of expansion of support services like laundry, health, segregation, sewer and water and land. That way, if rapid growth does occur, expanding is much less expensive.
Again he cautioned that it’s hard to have a head-to-head comparison, because different counties have different philosophies about criminal justice. However, he said Collin County does have in place all of the programs the Grayson County jail study recommended except for the drug court. And, he said, they have further added a pre-indictment plea program that successfully clears simple felony cases quickly. Without those programs, he said, he projects Collin County’s jail population currently would be 2,500.
Bynum reminded those who questioned accountability of the privately run jails that in addition to the county’s supervision of a private contractor, the State Commission on Jail Standards also keeps a close watch on county jails.
“Don’t forget, even if it’s a private jail, Jail Standards would come in,” Bynum said. “We’d have two sets of eyes. It’s very important that we have a liaison and very important that we don’t give up that control.”
