NATCHEZ, Miss. – Natchez-Adams County leaders making plans for a new jail are scheduled to tour Simpson County’s detention center that could serve as a model for what could replace Adams County’s deteriorating facility.
This comes as the Adams County Board of Supervisors advance their plans for constructing a detention center that could be on donated land north of Natchez.
The board earlier this month received a proposal for a privately owned jail being built to replace the county-owned facility.
The board in March accepted property to build a jail but has not publicly identified the donor or the location other than to say a business donated about 35 acres north of Natchez.
Meeting Monday in separate sessions, Adams County supervisors and Natchez aldermen discussed plans for a new criminal justice facility that some envision to potentially be a city-county complex that could hold 125-150 detainees.
Touring the Simpson County jail in Mendenhall is being arranged by Debbie Hudson Germany, the former Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce executive who’s now helping local government officials find funds and other resources for a new jail and other priorities.
Adams County supervisors for more than a decade have been struggling to maintain the 49-year-old jail – which also houses the Adams County Sheriff’s Office – and scrounge up money to build a new structure.
Jail conditions have worsened so much that Adams County this past year began sending many inmates to the nearby Concordia Parish detention facility, which is paid by the county to detain them. Natchez has also contracted with the Concordia Parish prison to house people arrested by the Natchez Police Department. The city closed its jail several years ago and was sending those arrested by the NPD to the Adams County jail, located on the corner of State and Wall streets by the county courthouse.
County supervisors have requested a Jackson-based construction company to update jail design plans and building costs it prepared for the county in 2014.
The board early this month heard a proposal that would have Adams County renting a new jail that would be built here to house local inmates. The county would not be responsible for the new building’s maintenance, according to the plan presented by Bert Carson, an executive at Sustainability Partners.
The Arizona-based company provides “infrastructure as a service” to local governments throughout the country. The company would pay for building Adams County’s new jail and charge the county a monthly usage fee based on the number of inmates or size of the facility. No commitment has been made yet by the board to this offer.
Natchez Alderman Billie Joe Frazier said Monday he wants the city to join the county in planning and funding a new criminal justice complex that could also house the Natchez Police Department. A retired Natchez police officer, Frazier has been opposing the city’s ongoing renovations of the NPD building, which he said is obsolete and not worth repairing. Repairs for the Devereaux Drive building this past year have included work on the front facade and front interior costing over $200,000.
Comments