New county jail means weighty operating costs

The annual cost of the existing facilities is $56.1 million while the proposed budget for the new facility and existing Maguire Correctional Facility is $74.8 million. The difference is $18.8 million, of which $17,394,640 is estimated for staffing alone.

As proposed, a new 768-bed facility will require 145 positions of which 75 already exist. The cost of staffing could be dropped by $4.3 million if the county opts for a smaller scale because sworn staff will decrease to 125. A different construction plan, in which the housing floors are reduced from three to two and bed count shifts from 768 to 512, lets the county save $14 million in construction costs.

However, 472 of those beds are necessary to ease the chronic overcrowding plaguing the current jail, according to Munks.

The figures, along with parameters of the proposed jail, will come before the board of Supervisors at its next meeting. Munks was expected to tell the board he is recommending the existing motor pool site on the county government campus and seek a budget. Instead, he will simply present a pre-architectural report and ask the supervisors what path he should pursue in regards to construction and staffing.

The proposed facility would be six floors with space for a kitchen, administration and programs such as cooking classes and vocational training. Although part of the motivation in recommending the motor pool site was its close proximity to Maguire — and existing facilities like its kitchen — the proposal actually calls for shuttering it and building a new, central kitchen to serve both buildings.

Although the 3.5-acre motor pool site, just down the street from Maguire, remains the preferred location for a new jail, Munks said he is still in talks with Redwood City officials about a different spot. Redwood City officials have made no secret of their distaste for a new facility near the renovated downtown and in March approved spending up to $310,000 on Davis Public Affairs to campaign against the plan. The effort included a long list of tasks, including a website which briefly went live before shutting down, but has pretty much remained quiet.

Aside from the motor pool, Munks is also asking the county to consider the office building 455 County Government Center which he said gives the county "some wiggle room” for future expansion.  

The Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 29 in Board Chambers, 400 County Government Center, Redwood City.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.