SHERIFF PRESENTS 'PLAN B' FOR JAIL

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson suggested Tuesday
the county could put off a jail expansion another four years if it
builds a separate building for prisoners on adjacent acreage west of the jail.

"We're thinking and we're trying to look ahead to the future,"
Ferguson said during a Finance Committee meeting.

Ferguson suggested the county build a 130- to 170-foot concrete
building on 10 acres west of the jail to help remedy the jail's
overcrowding. The facility would house as many as 150 inmates and
could be used to house female inmates, who must be kept separate from males.

Ferguson said high numbers of women inmates and work-release inmates
contribute to the jail's overcrowding problems. The county has been
turning away work-release inmates on weekends, when they are supposed
to serve their sentences, he said.

Currently, the jail stays at capacity with about 450 inmates every
day, Ferguson said.

He estimated costs for a new building at less than $2 million and
could be built in three months, noting the Sheriff's Office would
supply labor except for plumbing and electricity.

Ferguson's estimates include $150,000 for the basic building cost,
$750,000 for concrete work for the foundation and interior, $300,000
for toilets, sinks and furnishings, $150,000 for a perimeter fence
and recreation yard and $250,000 for controls, metal doors and
working mechanisms. About 25 guards would be required to run the new
jail building at a cost of about $700,000 per year, Ferguson said.
That recurring cost would be about the same if the county added a pod
to the jail, he said.

The $2 million figure compares with $14 million to $16 million to
build a new pod, Ferguson said. Ferguson attributed the cost savings
to using inmate labor, using pre-drawn plans from a similar building
in Washington County and using cheaper building materials.

If the Quorum Court approved the jail building, it wouldn't be
temporary. Even after a pod extension, the facility would help as the
county continues to grow, Ferguson said.

Justice of the Peace Tim Summers said the county should first look at
increasing the county work program, which allows offenders to work
without pay for the county instead of jail time, and expanding drug
court and rehabilitation programs. Without alternatives or a look at
the county's sentencing policy, the county could end up building and
filling bigger and bigger jails, he said.

Justice of the Peace Marge Wolf said the Sheriff's Offoce isn't the
place to suggest sentencing alternatives. The sheriff's job is to
arrest and carry out sentences, she said. The county will have to
look at a building a building before alternative programs.