Majority of commissioners want options on new prison design
Two Lancaster County commissioners Thursday asked consultants and county staff to come up with new design schematics for a planned county prison, steps they said could lower the total square footage and price tag of the project.
Commissioners Josh Parsons and Ray D'Agostino said at a Prison Board meeting that they were interested in looking at alternatives to the currently proposed 430,000 square-foot facility. That could mean a smaller capacity than the current proposal of 944 beds, they said, or reducing the amount of space dedicated for other purposes.
D'Agostino said the consultants that created the "schematic design" plan incorporated everything the board asked. "I just want to kick the tires on that a little bit more in terms of the areas and spaces," he said.
The commissioners said the staff could present the new options at October's prison board meeting unless they need more time.
Commissioner Alice Yoder ultimately indicated she was fine with those next steps, but stressed that she thought the current plans were already thorough and capture what county officials and the public want.
"It seems like almost every month or every six months, as we move forward, it's going to get more expensive" to build, Yoder said. "At some point we have to say, you know, 'This is what we need.'"
Parsons responded by suggesting the current proposal might be more than what's needed.
"I don't want to rush through the design phase and end up with something that, one, costs the community more than is necessary, and two, that it isn't perfect," Parsons said in response to Yoder's comments.
The remarks amounted to the first public discussion by the three commissioners of their views on the schematic design released in August by Kansas City-based TranSystems, the contractor hired by the county last year.
On Thursday, the commissioners said they were not sure at this point whether the project was still on track to be completed by the end of 2026, as previously projected. Parsons and D'Agostino have said often over the last two years that they are okay if the planning takes longer if that means a better outcome.
Other members of the Prison Board – Sheriff Chris Leppler, Controller Lisa Colón, President Judge David Ashworth and District Attorney Heather Adams – contributed little to the discussion, though Ashworth commented that he was pleased with the schematic design's incorporation of different programming to address recidivism and treatment for prisoners.
Adams said she still had concerns about the current planned capacity of 1,000 beds.
"If we have a crime wave, or if things change in the next one to three years, I worry about that, and I worry just if we have another COVID-type situation, is the new prison going to be able to handle that?" the district attorney said. "So, I'm nervous about that number."
Colón and Leppler did not make any comments Thursday regarding design plans.
According to the commissioners office, the prison board and board of commissioners are the decision-making authorities on the new prison project. Spending decisions and county contracts generally must go through the board of commissioners.
The commissioners said Thursday they are still accepting input from the public and have reviewed feedback on the schematic design plans they're received so far.
