‘Crowded and aging’: Sheriff aims to relocate 43-year-old Johnson County Jail

Editor's Note: This is part one of an occasional series on the Johnson County Jail. In part two, local officials will share their thoughts on the jail's future.

The Johnson County Jail at 511 S. Capitol Street in Iowa City has existed for more than four decades, having survived intense floods, tornadoes, and frigid temperatures.

The 43-year-old building that hosts a little more than 60 inmates and the entire Johnson County Sheriff's Office, is no longer a suitable home, sheriff Brad Kunkel told the Press-Citizen.

He said the building is too small to serve Johnson County's exploding population and needs to be replaced.

Kunkel and his colleagues have been working on proposals for a new jail, having discussed the building's future with the Johnson County supervisors. The jail's limited space has forced the sheriff's office to send a few of its inmates to other counties.

Though Kunkel can quickly list the various troubles the jail encounters regularly, he believes he and the county as a whole are responsible for helping erect a modern facility.

"We have a legal and ethical duty to provide a safe and adequate facility for everybody in the building and for all of our operations," Kunkel said. "This is not just the jail. This is the entire operation of the sheriff's office."

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Johnson County has outgrown its digs

Johnson County's population was roughly 81,000 when the current jail opened, according to historical census data from 1980. That number has nearly doubled in the 40 years since, with the 2020 Census Bureau estimating that 152,000 people now reside withtin the county.

That number has only continued to grow, based on current census estimates.

The Johnson County Jail was designed to hold up to 92 inmates, but it typically hosts around 65 people on a given day. Kunkel said that number allows the staff to safely monitor each criminal while keeping living conditions humane.

"That's a number we have in place that is kind of the maximum we can efficiently supervise given the layout of the building and the amount of staff that we have," Kunkel said. "Once we start getting over that number, you can start seeing more problems amongst the inmates because it becomes a density and space issue. The more people you pack into a smaller space, you start to see more problems."

Johnson County has spent more than $20 million in the past decade to house inmates in other counties, Kunkel said. More than $350,000 was spent in Fiscal 2023 alone. The cost to house local inmates out of county is $30,000 per person, according to data from December 2023.

Additional space issues impact the local deputies, as well. Kunkel notes that the sheriff's department has grown to match Johnson County's growth.

"We have 100 employees and we have a budget of about $60 million," Kunkel said. "We're not a small agency. We're a large law enforcement agency and we need a facility that meets our needs today and for the next 40 years."

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Cracks exposed at current jail

Shive-Hattery released a full assessment of the jail and sheriff's office's present and future needs in July. The assessment echoes findings from a 2023 county building assessment and the sheriff's statements: The jail is "crowded and aging" in its current state and has "long-term structural concerns."

Kunkel said cracks in exterior walls are frequent, plumbing leaks are common, and the building's wear and tear is growing.

Space is a huge concern, Kunkel said. The booking area for inmates is far too small and contains the only near-ADA-compliant shower in the jail. The nurse operates out of a small room tucked in the corner of the jail, roughly the size of a single-person cell. The room is also home to an employee bathroom.

An outdated jail

The jail's outdated design is "inefficient," the Shive-Hattery report said. Each cell block is accessed through one or two doors accompanied by a small window inlet, with sliding metal windows used to observe inmates throughout the day.

Kunkel said the old technology that powers key parts of the jail − like opening and closing cell doors − is clunky and old, which is a cause for concern.

The 1980s technology once failed to open a cell, trapping an inmate for hours. The sheriff's office was forced to saw the lock off to open the cell.

"We're lucky that he wasn't having a heart attack," Kunkel said.

Storage is also a big issue. To save space, inmates have their personal belongings vacuum-sealed upon entering custody. Jail uniforms and white undershirts are laundered in a small and old laundry room. The exercise area houses just a stationary bike and an exercise ball.

Mattresses wait for a home in the hallways.

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The future of the Johnson County Jail

Voters have narrowly rejected funding for the jail's reconstruction or relocation twice in the last 15 years. Although more than 50% were in favor of the measures, the vote fell short of the required 60% "supermajority" needed to carry.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors would first need to approve a plan for a new jail, then the measure would go to a vote in a future election.

Presentations from Shive-Hattery and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office have continued to yield forward progress in the last year, which include proposals and renderings.

The newest proposal, released in late May, revealed plans for a 140-bed facility with the capacity to expand to 240 beds. Some supervisors were skeptical about the need for a building of that size and scale.

"It's almost ludicrous to be having this conversation about 240 beds when the sheriff himself said that across the state, we've had a decrease in incarceration rates," Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz said during the May 29 board work session.

"So, what are we planning for?" Fixmer-Oraiz said. "In fact, I think that says we've been doing a good job and we should continue to invest in these alternative methods and practices."

Sheriff Kunkel told the Press-Citizen that preliminary renderings and designs are part of a long-term plan to build a jail to house violent criminals and protect victims in more adequate, more efficient ways, factoring in the continued future growth of the county.

Proposals do not indicate a desire to expand the number of people being arrested.

"I completely reject that statement," Kunkel said.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: What’s next for the ‘crowded and aging’ Johnson County Jail?