BY JERRIE WHITELEY

HERALD DEMOCRAT

SHERMAN -- Grayson County commissioners approved Monday two plans to study the county jail. One study will look at the overall stability of the building and infrastructure with the expressed purpose of finding out what it will cost to make the facility meet the county's correctional needs into the future.

The other study, somewhat narrower in purpose, will determine what it will cost to retrofit three jail pods so they can be used to house maximum security inmates.

Just exactly which study was needed, and when they were needed, prompted a great deal of discussion as commissioners continue to move the county forward in its quest for an answer to the need for the right number of jail beds, at the right time, for the right price.

Jeff Schneider, county purchasing agent, said he had worked out a contract document with Hale-Mills, a construction company, that will allow that company to come into the county jail and determine what it will cost to update it so it will meet the county's needs for the foreseeable future. Hale-Mills plans to do the study for free.

Commissioner Gene Short took exception to the county using Hale-Mills. He said that company was involved in a jail built by Southwestern Correctional which experienced an escape recently. Southwestern Correctional was the company county commissioners had selected to build a privately run jail in the county before shelving the idea this past summer.

Short said the jail he referred to in another county has had to implement some changes to improve security since the escape. He added that Grayson County doesn't need to go with a firm that it going to need to do that after a jail has been built.

Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum said, to be fair, Hale-Mills didn't design the jail in question. Commissioner Johnny Waldrip said the real issue people have with Hale-Mills being involved in anything related to the county jail is feeling that doing so might be a way of getting back around to the idea of a privatized jail.

He said he understood the idea of a private jail to be a thing of the past in the county. Bynum agreed, saying that privatization of the county jail is "no longer on the table."

Bynum said the examination by Hale-Mills is "just a way to examine what deficiencies are out there and what it will cost to fix them."

His statements didn't seem to please a few in the crowd including Dr. Stanley Knuckles who said that the idea of a new jail has divided the county and there is no way to undue that division by using a company that was involved in the privatization effort. He said the county needs to go with a company that had nothing to do with the previous attempts so that the recommendations issued will have credibility with everyone.

Bynum said he doesn't think Hale-Mills has any credibility problems with regard to the present tasks. He said it is a commonly held thought that the jail needs work and he just wants someone to go in and tell them what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost.

Short asked what would happen if, after Hale-Mills did the inspection, the county decided to build on or build a new jail and Hale-Mills didn't come back with the lowest bid? Commissioner David Whitlock said the county would have to go with the lowest bidder, no matter who did the inspection. That answer seemed to relieve Short.

Waldrip said he doesn't particularly care what the cost is when they finally get one. He said he just wants to know what it will cost to fix the jail so commissioners can take that number to the people and let them vote on fixing the jail for that price.

Bynum said he is in favor of having that election in May 2010. He said if that proposal does not pass, the commissioners will have to make another attempt and maybe put that one up for a vote in November.

"I think this is going to be a long, drawn-out process," Bynum predicted with a bit of weariness in his voice.

Commissioners Waldrip, Whitlock and Jackie Crisp all voted in favor of allowing Hale-Mills to do the inspection. Short voted against it.

The next jail-related item also included an inspection request. Roger Brazil requested that the county pay for an inspection to prove the county can upgrade the number of maximum security beds at the jail by reinforcing, with steel plates, both the walls and the ceiling of three inmate pods. He said doing so will give the Sheriff's Office the freedom to move inmates around in an effort to keep from having to send inmates out of the county. He said doing that could save the county thousands of dollars a year.

Waldrip argued that the idea is a good one, but maybe one that needs to be folded into the study being done by Hale-Mills. He said the problems that exist at the county jail have existed for quite some time now, and there is no pressing need to fix them right away.

Short disagreed. He said the need for the flexibility is urgent.

Waldrip countered that the idea itself is enough to give the county the time to consider it and get it done correctly. Short said the county should do it now and have 144 beds that can be used to house any inmate the county needs to house.

"What do we do if we have 144 beds now and the rest of it is gone," Waldrip asked indicating that the rest of the building is in bad shape.

Brazil disagreed. He said the county maintenance staff and jailers have been working on the problems at the county jail and have it in better shape than many would think.

He said if they had the right kind of finances, they could probably do more. He urged commissioners not to listen to anyone who said it might take millions of dollars to keep the jail going.

Whitlock questioned that response. He said he understood from the Sheriff that the jail was in need of repair, serious repair. Brazil said they have been making repairs all along.

Whitlock said he wished he had been told that two years ago.

In the end, Short, Crisp and Whitlock voted in favor of allowing the inspection and Waldrip voted against it. Bynum didn't vote.