ROCKINGHAM — Commissioners on Tuesday opted to hold off on shelling out $35,000 for a feasibility study related to creating a combined jail for Richmond and Scotland counties.
Chairman Jeff Smart said he has had recent meetings with commissioners in neighboring Scotland County, noting that “they are in the same situation as Richmond County … with our jail situation.”
Both jails, Smart said, are old and overcrowded: “It’s very costly to us.”
“We’ve had members of our community bring this up, we’ve talked with the sheriff multiple times … and we’re audited frequently by the state,” Smart said.
A report from the UNC School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab shows that the Richmond County Jail had an average occupancy percentage of 147.1% in 2019 — the highest in the state — with an average capacity of 72 and average occupancy of 106.
Scotland County had the seventh-highest rate with a capacity of 109 and average capacity of 134.
A regional jail isn’t a foreign concept in the Tar Heel State.
The Albemarle District Jail in northeastern North Carolina serves Pasquotank, Perquimans and Camden counties, and the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail serves those respective counties.
“The commissioners in Scotland County are very interested in partnering, maybe, to do a feasibility study for maybe, possibly, a regional jail facility down the line, somewhere,” Smart said. “I’m not saying we would go through with it …but at least get the ball rolling … to see if it even is feasible.”
Smart went on to say that although the request was for $35,000 — for Richmond County’s share of the study — he wasn’t sure it would be that expensive.
“It seems like kind of a lot, to me, for a feasibility study,” Smart said.
Commissioner Dr. Rick Watkins discusses the options of a feasibility study.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Commissioner Dr. Rick Watkins asked if the study would focus on just a joint facility, or if options for individual county jails be offered. Commissioner Jamie Gathings agreed, saying if the county was to have the study performed, that both options be included.
County Manager Bryan Land gave a “dated” estimate of $80-$90 million for a facility to house 180-200 detainees, adding that he wouldn’t be surprised if the cost has increased to $100 million.
At 1:45 p.m. March 12, online records showed 142 detainees in the Richmond County Jail and 154 in Scotland County. That number, at least for Richmond County, includes those being housed at other jails.
According to Finance Director Cary Garner, detainees are currently being housed in five other counties — Moore, Montgomery, Randolph, Rowan and Brunswick — at a rate of $60-$71 per day, per inmate.
During the last fiscal year, Richmond County spent around $825,000 for out-of-county detention, Garner said. So far this fiscal year, the tab is up to $910,000.
“I firmly believe this is a judicial problem, not a Richmond County taxpayer problem,” said Commissioner Justin Dawkins.
Jail records show that two defendants have been held since 2019, three since 2020 and two since 2021 — all on murder charges. Of those one is being held in the Richmond County Jail, with two each in Moore, Montgomery and Rowan counties.
“I would be opposed to spending any dollar of Richmond County taxpayer dollars towards this effort,” Dawkins continued, suggesting having Land work with local legislators to see if there are any state funds available to support the project.
Commissioner Andy Grooms agreed with Dawkins.
“It’s just not feasible,” Grooms said. “I don’t have to spend $35,000 of taxpayer money to see that already.”
Commissioner Jaime Gathings said that a new jail is needed because the current one is “outdated,” citing safety and maintenance issues.
“We’ve got to start somewhere, we can’t just keep pushing it,” Gathings said.
Watkins said the board should explore investing in the district attorney’s office.
“If we can get these cases heard, we can move them through the system and then they’re not sitting in the Richmond County Jail or a place that we’re paying 60-plus dollars a day, they actually then move to (a) state prison, so it’s not our burden,” Watkins said. “There are some things that we can work on to hopefully make it something that would be more feasible.”
The board moved to table the issue until more information is available, including if the state would help pick up the tab.
