NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors said they want feedback from their constituents on whether they’re willing to generate the money needed for a new jail.
“Building a jail is going to require their taxes going up,” said Supervisor Ricky Gray.
“Call a town hall meeting. See what the people want,” said Supervisor Angela Hutchins. “If they want their taxes raised, I’m all for it.”
She suggested putting the issue on the ballot for Adams County voters to approve or reject.
The five-member Board of Supervisors on Monday – as it has in recent years in many meetings – discussed the 47-year-old jail’s worsening structural problems that have some questioning whether inmates are being held in inhumane conditions.
“I know the urgency the jail has created. It’s pretty durn bad,” said Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said. “It’s deteriorating.”
“It’s been (a pressing issue) here before, but right now it’s a lot more concerning,” he said.
He noted a “blueprint” is being prepared of various alternatives and costs for how to house Adams County inmates.
As it appears the current jail can’t be rehabilitated, questions now turn to what will replace it, how much a new jail would cost to build, how it would be funded and where it should be located.
Another option being reviewed is for the county to not have a jail and contract with another to house inmates. Natchez has contracted with the Adams County jail to detain city inmates.
A temporary remedy being discussed is to get outside pods to detain inmates on the jail property located on State and Wall streets by the courthouse.
The growing pressure about how to fund a new jail comes as county supervisors face re-election next year.
Supervisors responded Monday to published criticism urging them “to stop kicking the jail issue down the road” and resolve the problem.
“It’s not that the Board of Supervisors is not doing anything,” said Supervisor Warren Gaines. “We’re trying to work out a solution.”
“All the supervisors are on board to building a new jail,” Gray said.
Regardless of whether Adams County residents support funding a new jail, Patten expressed concerns about lawsuits being filed against the county by inmates alleging they’re incarcerated in deplorable conditions.
Built in 1975, the Adams County jail has been considered substandard for several years with various structural problems that county supervisors have been struggling to fund and fix.
The jail last month was holding about 108 detainees, according to the sheriff’s office. The jail has inmates arrested and detained by Adams County and Natchez law-enforcement agencies.
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