Law enforcement officials are hoping that Blaine County's new jail will make it easier for inmates to transition back into society.
"Ninety percent of the people I have in county jail will be our neighbors again," said Sheriff Walt Femling. "My philosophy, and what this building will allow us to do, is work on programs for the inmates so they'll be a better neighbor when they get out."
The new jail, located on Airport Way in south Hailey, is part of the new Blaine County Public Safety Building. Construction was started in May of 2007 after voters overwhelmingly approved a $10.46 million bond issue in February of that year.
"We spent a lot of time planning this out," Femling said. "But at the same time, we've been working on this for 17 years."
Femling was referring to previous attempts to fund a new jail, which failed before the electorate in 1990, 1995 and 1996.
Femling said total costs will come in about $11.9 million. Funding beyond the bond issue was from other sources such as a grant from Homeland Security to upgrade the county's emergency communications system.
In addition to the new jail, the Public Safety Building will house the sheriff's office staff and the county's 911 Consolidated Dispatch Center.
The 36,000-square-foot building is completed except for some finishing touches. The sheriff's administrative staff moved in last week, patrol officers are moving in this week and prisoners will be transferred to the new jail sometime in August. Locating the Consolidated Dispatch Center will be delayed until October because of delays in getting approval on the communications tower.
The new jail will remove staff and prisoners from the cramped conditions in the old jail, which is often referred to as "the dungeon."
"Our old facility, you saw it, was like dog kennels," Femling said. "It was way too hot, it was way too cold, it smelled. It was extremely depressing to work there or to be an inmate there."
The roof leaked too.
The old facility was built in 1972. Its maximum capacity is 26 inmates, not enough space for the 32 inmates per day average that the facility has experienced for about the last two years. Extra inmates have to be held elsewhere, sometimes as far away as Boise, which greatly increases staff time and transportation costs to shuttle prisoners back and forth for hearings in Blaine County courts.
The old jail has no accommodations for juveniles or female inmates either. The new jail has cell blocks for female inmates and 72-hour holding cells for juveniles which will greatly reduce the number of trips necessary to haul youngsters back and forth from the Snake River Juvenile Detention Center in Twin Falls.
The new jail will also hold more prisoners, up to 84 including 20 beds for work release inmates, who are allowed to go to their jobs on the condition that they return to jail each evening until their sentences are fulfilled.
Instead of crowded musty cells, the new jail features spacious cell blocks including day rooms. Potentially dangerous inmates, or those with infectious diseases, can be segregated from those requiring minimal security.
A large recreational area allows prisoners to exercise at basketball or handle ball or to lift weights to stay in condition.
Femling points out that all prisoner amenities are funded by the inmates through a $25 daily charge, telephone calls or concession purchases.
The new jail also affords greater opportunities for education, medical care and treatment programs. Video visitation will also greatly expand hours when visitors can call.
Other features of the new Public Safety Building include:
·A state-of the-art kitchen, which meets public health standards unlike the older one.
·A video arraignment system that allows inmates to make court appearances without leaving the jail and greatly reduces transportation costs.
·A Central Control system that allows jail staff to see virtually the entire jail area and reduces the number of staff needed to operate the facility.
·Seventy-eight security cameras that link to Central Control and provide real-time viewing of the entire complex.
·A recreational facility and locker rooms for sheriff's department staff.
·A specious evidence room with security systems to preclude evidence mishandling.
·A Sheriff's Annex building to house search and rescue and mobile command vehicles and equipment.
·An Emergency Operations Center for Blaine County emergencies that can also double as a training room.
Femling said the new facility is one in which the citizens of Blaine County can be proud, and one that affords more humane treatment for prisoners.
"It offers more of a living environment to help inmates make a change in their life," he said. "They don't come out angrier than when they went in like at the old facility."
Jail House Rock
The grand opening, including a ribbon cutting, for the new Blaine County Public Safety Building is 3 p.m. today. Following that, public tours will be conducted until 6 p.m., which is the kickoff time for Jail House Rock, a fundraiser to benefit the Community Drug Coalition. The public tours are free, while Jail House Rock costs $25. The event will feature live music, dancing, beer and wine, jail tours and hors d'oeuvres. "We really want the public to see this because they're paying for this," said Femling. "Anybody can buy a ticket and come in. It's going to be great fun."
Sheriff Walt Femling demonstrates the video arraignment system at the new jail, which allows prisoners to go to court without having to go to court. The system will greatly reduce prisoner transportation costs.
