A study will set forth recommendations for renovating or expanding the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Jail.
In their virtual meeting Monday, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners gave approval for Indianapolis engineering firm DLZ to develop a planning study for the 224-bed facility, which is normally full.
Sheriff Ryan Needham sought a needs assessment to study capacity issues at the 14-year-old jail. Funding for the $8,000 study came from the jail’s commissary fund.
As part of the assessment, engineers will interview leaders from the county’s justice system, review inspection reports and examine the current facilities.
Engineers will also forecast inmate populations through 2040, and study other non-custody options for handling offenders that are less expensive than adding beds, the company wrote in a proposal.
The company said it would deliver its report to a joint meeting of the Board of Commissioners and County Council by late August.
DLZ has developed 74 master plans or studies and at least 135 designs for more than 24,000 rated jail beds.
The jail released virtually all non-violent inmates last month due to the coronavirus pandemic. There were 100 inmates in the jail Monday afternoon.
