Tuesday, Aug. 9
August 8, 2011
Fourchon Beach access in question
August 10, 2011
The Lafourche Parish Detention Center has the structural capacity to be refurbished and expanded, which may provide the parish an alternate avenue to bolster its prison capacity, according to an architectural report.
The report’s conclusion has some on the parish committee tasked with solving the jail woes optimistic about utilizing the current facility.
“It changed my thinking,” said Lindel Toups, chairman of the jail committee. “Instead of building a new jail, maybe we can go ahead and fix that and build some [prisoner] domes or something.”
Toups had been a supporter of introducing a sales tax proposition for public vote in order to sustain long-term financing of a new facility.
Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre pumped the brakes on optimism, saying that further research is required before a decision can be made on making use of the current jail in expansion plans.
“I honestly concur 100 percent [with the report],” Webre said. “It’s a strong-ass building with a lot of bricks and mortar and concrete and steel. It ain’t falling down any time soon. If there’s a hurricane, go there and you’ll be safe. But does it need to be a part of a new jail and will it save money? I don’t think we can say that.”
The sheriff suggested that the parish commission more studies on the feasibility of actually using the building as a jail, including if it could meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, prisoner oversight logistics and whether there is enough property at the current facility to sufficiently expand.
The projected expenses required to retrofit the current facility need to be examined, and the parish should ask for expert opinions on whether the detention center’s antiquated design can lend itself to efficient management of the incarcerated, the sheriff said.
“I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the fact that a building has been determined to be structurally sound is a far cry from whether it is financially or practically suitable for an intended purpose,” Webre said.
The detention center, while structurally sound, is not an efficient facility in holding inmates, Webre said. “You can’t supervise [in the current facility]. You can’t use direct supervision. You can’t maximize our officer-to-prisoner ratio. I don’t think you’ll see it have a lot of practical use as an efficient solution.
“I don’t think the study that says the building is structurally sound answers the larger question, the more important question: Is it financially and practically and logistically feasible?”
The current facility can hold 244 prisoners and typically averages more than 400, according to the sheriff’s office head of corrections. Excess prisoners are held in other parishes’ facilities.
Webre has said the number of prisoners is “artificially low,” and a jail that would outlast the loans needed to finance it would need a 750- to 850-prisoner capacity.
An 800-bed facility would cost more than $70 million over 30 years, a financial advisor Stephens Inc. said in April. The cost could be covered by a half-cent sales tax or a quarter-cent sales tax combined with a rededicated property tax millage, he said.
The parish hired Fournet & Fournet, A.I.A. to survey the feasibility of refurbishing or expanding the facility. “The existing 34 year old structure is in generally good condition and structurally sound,” the report reads.
Three pages in length, the report discusses the building’s foundation, structural frame, roof frame, exterior walls, roofing and interior partitions. Each facet of the building could be incorporated into an expansion, although some need minor repair work first.
The foundation is in good condition and is constructed in a way that would allow access underneath the building for the purpose of installing a new plumbing system.
The structural frame shows “some minor cracks and spalling,” but “the deterioration has no effect on the structural integrity of the building” and “can be repaired.” It will require additional insulation.
The roof frame needs to be brought into compliance with the current wind code, which can be done through the addition of “wind anchors and other minor miscellaneous bracing additions.”
“Minor attachment upgrades may be required at future building modification” on the roof, and the more than 10-years-old shingles need replacement.
The interior partitions can be moved to create space, and the exterior walls are said to be in good condition “with no apparent defects.”
Webre has said in the past that the jail’s parking lot, sally port, and recreation center needs revamping. He has said there is a lack of space in key interior rooms, namely prisoner intake, commissary storage, prisoner records and the holding area.
Lafourche spent more than $1 million housing out-of-parish prisoners in 2010, according to the parish finance director.
The current jail, which was built in 1968 and expanded in 1977, has had crowding issues since 1995. Maintenance problems have prevailed since 1992. The Lafourche Parish Council began planning the construction of a replacement jail March 1, 2005.
Parish President Charlotte Randolph did not respond to messages left at her office seeking comment.
Lt. Brett Exnicious, a shift supervisor, works the control room at the Lafourche Parish Detention Center. ERIC BESSON
