CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Overcrowding in the Nueces County Jail remains a top issue for Commissioners, who are looking to build a new facility.
Commissioner Joe Gonzalez proposed doing a feasibility study for a new county jail. Gonzalez was not the only one who saw the potential for the jail. Nueces County Sheriff John Hooper understands the need for a new facility.
"I think there's a lot of value in that needs assessment, or somebody looks at what we have and yes, even someone with bad vision can tell we need a new jail," Hooper said.
While there was discussion on spending $250,000 for the study, no one on Commissioners Court was willing to commit that much. Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney weighed in saying that without commitment to the project, the study had no reason to be funded.
"I don't know if it's worth spending the money on a feasibility study if we're not committed to the results of the feasibility study," Chesney said.
In order to justify the means, Chesney suggested that an engineer be hired to do a less costly assessment of how much a new jail would cost the County.
"I've heard numbers like $200 million that are needed for a jail," Chesney said, "or some ridiculous amount of money. I don't know if that's right or not, but think about it. If you build a new jail and building on 100 acres, well, you know what land values are going for. You know what building costs are going for."
While Commissioners Court did not take any action, it's still looking at the possibility of approving a scaled down cost assessment sometime in January.
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said that before any action takes place, being up to code on jail standards is their top priority.
"We need to make sure we're up to snuff on jail standards because they're going to hold us accountable," Canales said.
Commissioners did discuss where the money would come from to fund the study. It was decided that the funds could be used from the American Rescue Plan Act. Paying for a new county jail would be done through a bond proposal, and that could be put before voters by 2025.
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