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West Jordan, Utah-based Sprung Instant Structures Inc. is one example of a company that makes temporary jail facilities.Photo courtesy SPRUNG
West Jordan, Utah-based Sprung Instant Structures Inc. is one example of a company that makes temporary jail facilities.

Photo courtesy SPRUNG

County asks city for $1M a year to house inmates

Posted online
Last edited 2:50 p.m., May 25, 2016

The Greene County Commission yesterday presented a proposal to Springfield City Council asking the city to contribute $1 million a year toward a temporary inmate housing structure.

The commission’s proposal calls on a temporary facility to be erected on a parking lot east of the Greene County Jail and north of the commission’s office at 933 N. Robberson Ave. If the proposal is accepted, Presiding Commissioner Bob Cirtin said the city and county would lease the structure for three years from a company that specializes in temporary facilities. After being put out for bid, the facility would take 90-125 days to construct.

“This is a short-term, temporary fix for the jail problem. These structures are not meant to last forever,” Cirtin said, comparing the facility to a temporary structure City Utilities recently used for a downtown remediation project.

Cirtin said the city’s $1 million a year, with $400,000 to $500,000 from the county, would pay for the lease, as well as staffing, meals, medical services and other operational costs. The city is being asked to contribute $1 million when the contract is executed and $1 million annually in the agreement’s second and third years.

The proposal would guarantee a minimum of 20 beds per day at the temporary facility for inmates arrested on Springfield Municipal Court charges or warrants by the Springfield Police Department. The facility would hold 100-150 inmates.

According to the county’s proposal, the county jail currently holds 446 Springfield municipal prisoners, which is roughly 74 percent of its space.

Last year, the city sued Greene County’s sheriff and commissioners after Sheriff Jim Arnott sent a letter to Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams stating the county would stop accepting municipal prisoners at the 1000 Boonville Ave. jail.

In its proposal yesterday, county officials asked the city to drop its lawsuit, though it’s not a requirement of the lease agreement.   

Cirtin said the reception was mixed at yesterday’s council meeting.

“There are some that we know are going to oppose it,” he said.

City spokeswoman Cora Scott said via email council is “seriously” considering the county’s proposal.

“City Council appreciates this substantive proposal and certainly shares the common goal of addressing challenges in our criminal justice system,” council members said in a statement provided by Scott. “Council will weigh this proposal in comparison to the short-term jail solution recently approved and scheduled to be implemented May 31.

“City Council is willing to invest in a long-term solution and looks forward to continued work with the county on this and other issues of combined interest.”

During council’s May 16 meeting, the governing body approved a contract with Southern Missouri Judicial Services LLC to transport inmates to the Taney County Jail and monitor those in custody at three holding cells at the city’s Battlefield Road police station.

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