Shasta supervisors approve expanding downtown Redding jail. But where's the funding?

Still not certain where the money to build it will come from, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with a 256-bed expansion of the jail in downtown Redding.

By voting 4-1, supervisors directed county staff to start the California Environmental Quality Act process on the expansion and to start looking for funding possibilities to pay for the work.

The board’s majority agreed that it was time to stop talking about building more jail beds and start doing it.

District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye, who was elected in November, said the county has been exploring whether to expand the downtown jail or build a new jail on another site for the better part of the year when it should have simply picked the more affordable option, expanding the current jail.

“I think the problem is we spend so much time talking and not enough time doing. I think right now the public demands movement, the public demands more safety,” Crye said.

Supervisor Patrick Jones, who earlier was unanimously voted board chair for 2023, said the county needs to focus on expanding the jail because it will be more affordable than building a new one and take less time.

Jones acknowledged that he supports building a new, 1,000-bed jail, but it's not an economic reality.

“There is no way to finance that amount of money barring a sales tax increase,” he said.

But the cost to expand is not known.

Before Tuesday, supervisors were told it could cost up to $125 million to expand the current jail on West Street, which opened in 1984.

During his presentation to supervisors, Public Works Director Al Cathey estimated the cost at $111 million, suggesting the county could finance it over a 30-year period.

Jones reminded Cathey that the cost could come down because supervisors last year voted to allocate $25 million from the American Recovery Plan Act money the county is receiving toward construction of a jail.

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However, there’s a question if the county will be able to spend ARPA money on the expansion.

In May, supervisors voted unanimously to allocate $25 million in ARPA money toward the construction of a jail. At the time, County Counsel Rubin Cruse Jr. told supervisors that ARPA money could be used for the jail if ancillary components within the jail, like mental health services and job placement programs, were included in the facility.

Aside from 256 more beds, it’s not clear at this point what other features the expansion will include.

Supervisor Mary Rickert, who cast the lone dissenting vote, brought up the ARPA money and asked Deputy County Executive Officer Mary Williams if that caveat still exists.

"We need to explore this more in depth. This is a serious decision that is going to impact generations," Rickert said. "We had several speakers today say the importance of receiving services, mental health services. ... Those are the kind of things that reduce recidivism."

Williams said that to use the ARPA money, counties must still include programs for rehabilitative services like mental health, drug addiction or job placement programs. She explained how the county might still be able to use the federal dollars for the expansion.

“Well, we’d have to get creative and work with counsel to see what kind of expenses we could use it on,” Williams said. “Like I said, we haven’t gone too far down that road because we don’t have exact expenses.”

Some people attending the meeting suggested going after grants to pay for the expansion.

Acting County Executive Officer Patrick Minturn has said the state isn’t eager to hand out money for new jail cells but might be more willing to fund jail projects that have more progressive elements.

Tuesday’s vote capped a four-month journey that started last August when supervisors directed the county to explore expanding the existing jail and the potential to build a new jail on a new site. The sheriff’s office held two workshops to get feedback from the public.

In August, Sheriff Michael Johnson indicated that expanding the current jail could be a temporary fix while the county waits for a new jail to be built, which could cost up to $500 million.

Johnson was not at Tuesday’s meeting due to a prior commitment with the California State Sheriff’s Association. Undersheriff Brian Jackson was there in Johnson’s place.

Jackson emphasized to supervisors that whatever option they take to keep the sheriff’s office in the loop.

“Our input is going to be one of the most essential pieces,” Jackson said.

Reserve correctional officers in jail?

At the request of Supervisor Crye, the board at a future meeting will discuss the prospects of starting a reserve correctional officer program in the jail to shore up staffing, which has fallen to critical levels.

The sheriff's office would provide feedback on the feasibility of such a program at the same meeting.

“I’d like to bring back for discussion the recruitment of 75 to 100 new reserve correctional officers with the understanding that they would serve one 12-hour shift every roughly 60 days,” Crye said.

The sheriff’s office last summer was forced to close one floor of the jail due to a staffing shortage and has given no indication when it plans to reopen the floor.

Crye said residents interested in being a reserve correctional officer would have to go through a background check and get the appropriate training.

Minturn said supervisors will need to consider the training costs, which could be quite high, for a reserve correctional officer program.

“We would like to have some time to do a cost analysis,” Minturn said.

Fighting the state over AB 205

In the wake of the state passing Assembly Bill 205 last June, Supervisor Jones said it's time for Shasta and other counties to fight back.

Last week, the California Energy Commission (CEC) notified Shasta County that ConnectGen under the name Fountain Wind LLC applied to the state for a 205-megawatt, 48-turbine wind farm under the opt-in provision established under Assembly Bill 205.

The project is proposed for the same site south of Highway 299 in the Round Mountain-Montgomery Creek area of eastern Shasta County that supervisors voted down 4-1 on Oct. 26, 2021, after more than 10 hours of public comment.

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In denying the appeal by the company, supervisors upheld a June 22, 2021, unanimous decision by the Shasta County Planning Commission to reject the use permit for the Fountain Wind project.

The board at a future meeting will talk about what can be done to protect the county from what Jones calls an overreach by the state.

"It's time to step up and litigate not only on our behalf and other counties for the Legislature overstepping their bounds," Jones said.

"It's not going to be for Fountain Wind. There will be other things that the Legislature will try to take local control from us."

Jones named board chairman

At its first meeting of the new year, supervisors picked a new chair and vice chair.

Les Baugh, who represented District 5 and did not seek reelection, chaired the board in 2022. Jones was the vice chair.

Newly elected Supervisor Chris Kelstrom nominated Jones for chair and he was unanimously approved.

Tim Garman was named vice chair by a unanimous vote.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County supervisors approve expanding downtown Redding jail