County supervisors will discuss a report next week that calls
for a relocation and expansion of several county criminal justice
buildings
– projects that would cost nearly $20 million.
Hollister – County supervisors will discuss a report next week that calls for a relocation and expansion of several county criminal justice buildings – projects that would cost nearly $20 million.
Some on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors support Sheriff Curtis Hill’s proposal – which is detailed in a report created by Facility Design Group, Inc – to move the sheriff and probation departments out of downtown to locations near the jail on Flynn Road. Also included in the plan is an expansion of the jail and juvenile hall. However, others believe the county’s criminal justice offices should stay where they are to help sustain downtown businesses.
In January, the board gave Hill the go-ahead to pay Facility Design $30,000 to assess future space needs and create a master plan for county criminal justice agencies. The recently-released report states that current and projected population growth in the county will continue to overburden the county’s already crowded law enforcement facilities.
“Bottom line: California continues to grow. We’re going to get bigger,” Hill said. “I have to be able to plan for the future.”
Hill said that overcrowding at the county jail, which is built to hold a maximum of 125 inmates, is an ongoing problem and each day his department has to work with the local court to decide which inmates can be released early. As of Friday evening the county jail had 127 guests, Hill said. His 55-year-old office on Fourth Street is also severely inadequate, he said, with closets that serve as offices and a leaky roof.
The report that supervisors will review recommends:
n A nearly 27,000 square-foot expansion of the county’s adult jail located on Flynn Road, at an estimated cost of $3.5 million.
n Construction of a new 30,000 square-foot sheriff’s office to be connected to the jail on Flynn Road, at an estimated cost of $6.1 million.
n A nearly 18,000 square-foot expansion of Juvenile Hall, located adjacent to the jail, at an estimated cost of $6.1 million.
n Construction of a new 7,000 square-foot probation department to be connected to the juvenile hall, with an estimated cost of $3.5 million.
Currently, both the sheriff’s office and probation department are located on Fourth Street near the county administration building. Enlarging the current facilities on Fourth Street is not an option because the buildings are decades old and are in a tight location that doesn’t allow for expansion, according to the report.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said he would prefer to see the county keep its facilities in downtown Hollister so people have a reason to come to the area and add to the local economy.
“Is the mission of the county to go away from Hollister’s downtown?” he said. “If it is, I wish the department heads would tell us that.”
Downtown merchants have also voiced concerns about the county’s criminal justice facilities, and its employees, being moved out of the area and the loss of business that could come with it.
“Obviously we would like to see everybody presently downtown stay in downtown because of our restaurants and businesses,” said Hollister Downtown Association Executive Director Brenda Weatherly.
But Supervisor Anthony Botelho said he thinks the sheriff’s department needs a new home.
“I feel very strongly,” he said. “Their facility is deplorable. We can’t continue with the way it is. Now is the time to update their working environment so they can function.”
Supervisors will discuss the plan at their Dec. 6 meeting.
