Our new jail “insufficient before it opens?”
The L-T reports that a state jail inspector has warned the county that the new jail project could be insufficient before it's even completed. Ouch.
On Monday, the same day construction on the first phase of the new Eau Claire County Jail began, Brad Hompe, a detention facilities specialist for the state Department of Corrections, sent a letter to Sheriff Ron Cramer that strongly encourages officials to complete four cellblocks, rather than three.
However, the Eau Claire County Board's Building Committee on Tuesday decided to proceed with the proposed jail as planned, meaning three cellblocks will be completed and a fourth will be partially finished.
The fourth cell block – the 'direct supervision unit' – is apparently something the current jail lacks. The inspector says it'd be a missed opportunity to not finish it now. He said the absence of the unit will "create behavior management issues," among other problems. However, adding the extra cell block would require eight more employees to pay on top of the construction cost.
