SEVERAL LOCALITIES ACTING ON REGIONAL JAIL STUDY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992                   TAG: 9201300142
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium
SEVERAL LOCALITIES ACTING ON REGIONAL JAIL STUDY
Action on a study for a regional jail got support from several New River Valley localities Wednesday, although only two have authorized full funding.
Governing bodies in Radford and Pulaski County approved their shares of the needs assessment's cost, and Floyd County approved most of its assessed share.
The needs assessment will be made by the New River Valley Planning District Commission at a cost of $24,000. The breakdown in cost shares was based on participation by at least two more localities, Wythe and Bland counties.
The regional jail board will make presentations to the governing bodies in those counties as well as Giles and Carroll counties and possibly Grayson County and the city of Galax.
"The more we have in this boat, guys, the less it's going to cost each of us individually," Floyd County Administrator Randy Arno said.
The cost breakdown for the assessment, based on the prisoners and cells of each locality, is Pulaski County, $8,935; Radford, $4,114; Floyd County, $3,042; Wythe County, $4,971; and Bland County, $2,935.
The Floyd County Board of Supervisors approved up to $2,500 last month. But the shares all could come down if more jurisdictions are persuaded to participate.
The needs assessment is the first step toward a regional jail, pulling together data to show whether such a facility is needed and how large it should be. The next step would be a study of existing facilities, also funded by the participants.
Localities then would have to fund the jail and, if the state approves the way it is built, they would be eligible for state reimbursement. But the reimbursement, even if approved by the Department of Corrections, depends on the General Assembly's appropriating the money for it.
Radford Assistant City Manager Roy Lloyd Jr., committee chairman, said there is no guarantee of state reimbursement, but corrections officials are likely to be "on our side. . . . If we can solve our jail problems, we're going to solve a lot of problems for the Department of Corrections."
He said bills in the 1992 legislature include provisions for localities' funding education for prisoners and other requirements that could cost the city as much as $500,000 a year. It is getting to the point that it is cost-prohibitive for localities to build their own jails, he said.
Assistant Pulaski County Administrator Peter Huber noted that requirements such as prisoner educational programs could be handled more economically on a regional basis.
Wythe County Sheriff Wayne Pike said such a facility, built large enough, could take federal prisoners and receive federal reimbursements. He said location is a key factor in which jails get prisoners from overcrowded federal facilities and that this region, with two interstate highways, is in an ideal position.
"I think the jail can pay for itself quickly, and I think it can make a lot of revenue," he said. "The biggest hurdle is the red tape in getting to the building. You know, we've been discussing this thing for 10 years."
"Perhaps its time has come," Lloyd said. "We need to move on with it. We're getting a little pushed for time."
The needs assessment must be complete by June 1 if the project is to avoid waiting two more years for another biennium. Dave Rundgren, executive director of the Planning District Commission that will make the assessment, said complications already have come up.
Each jail has regularly submitted statistics to the state on its number of prisoners, the number it had to house elsewhere due to lack of space and other information. Rundgren said he had counted on easily getting those figures for the study. But the state has had trouble putting them into its computer for the last few years, and he will have to consult each sheriff individually to pull the data from jail logs and other records.
"It doesn't reside in Richmond," he said.
The committee voted to proceed with the study, even though not all the localities have signed on to funding it yet, because of the time element.
At least three localities must participate to qualify for a regional jail.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB