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Jail addition to relieve inmate overcrowding
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Published: September 10, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY - A county jail addition now under construction could relieve overcrowding of inmates as the number of prisoners begins to swell again and inspections turned up "notable violations" at the two existing jails.
The two jails remain 35 percent over capacity, Sgt. Neal Berry of the Sheriff's Office pointed out at the Pasco County Public Safety Coordinating Council on Sept. 5.
The head count Friday morning showed 1,359 at the main jail in Land O' Lakes and the jail in New Port Richey, according to a status report.
That meant 317 inmates had to sleep in temporary bedding, Berry reported.
"We've been climbing and climbing rapidly," Berry said about the prisoner population.
The average daily inmate population is up by more than 90 prisoners since June, he added, after the numbers had dipped earlier this year.
Overcrowding caused the chief problems cited in recent inspections of the two jails. Teams from the Hillsborough and Pinellas sheriff's offices overall gave high marks to the Pasco jails with "no serious violations," according to confirmation letters released Friday.
The jail addition will bring 768 extra beds for prisoners, Frank James, the county's facilities management director, told the safety council. Commissioner Ann Hildebrand chairs the panel of judges, prosecutors, county officials and the sheriff at quarterly meetings.
Construction of the three-story jail building at Land O' Lakes remains on schedule to open in the middle of 2009, James said.
Rain halted work by crews for 10 days this summer, but not even six inches of rainfall has dampened the progress of construction, James observed.
The contractor could reach "substantial completion" on the project by June 25, 2009, James said.
The need is so great that inmates will begin moving into the first floor of the addition after its completion expected in early May, even as work continues on the second and third floors, officials said.
"This has been a long time coming," Hildebrand remarked. "It's paramount we meet that deadline."
The county caught a break on the price for the project. The grand total comes to $17,474,813, which fell below estimates.
The contractor guaranteed the maximum price for the job, James noted.
Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.
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