Walsh County officials ponder the future as jail vote nears
District Court Judge Barbara Whelan said the Walsh County Jail could close in a year, based on the issues it's facing. The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been reducing the number of beds available at the jail over the years because of the conditions.
"I truly believe the only reason that we have beds open right now is because they know we are working on getting a new jail," Whelan said. "If we don't get a new jail, I am very confident that it's going to be less than 12 months, they're coming in and shutting down our jail. ... And then what are we going to do? Because I don't have a place to send these people. And the other counties, we beg them for beds to get these people there."
The county has been working for five years to come up with a solution for the problems at the jail, including heating, cooling, storage space, capacity and transportation costs. An election on May 13 will decide if the county will go through with the implementation of a 0.75% sales tax and an increase of the general fund levy, which will help pay for the $42,675,140 new facility.
A $5 million portion of that cost is to fix heating and cooling issues at the county courthouse. A public information meeting was held at the courthouse on Wednesday, May 7, to discuss the issues at hand and how the project will fix them.
The two questions, which must both receive a majority "yes" vote for the referendum to be approved, are "Shall the general fund levy of Walsh County, North Dakota be increased from 60 mills up to 80 mills as outlined in Ordinance 2025-2 for the purpose of funding the construction and operation of a county jail and sheriff's office?" and "Shall the Walsh County Commission be authorized to implement and collect up to a new three-quarters of one percent (0.75%) sales and use tax outlined in Ordinance 2025-1 for the purpose of funding the construction of a county jail and sheriff's office?"
The sales tax is temporary and will be removed once the debt is cleared.
During the informational meeting, Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens and Sid Samuels, the consultant for the project and president of The Samuels Group, spoke about the different difficulties the jail is facing. The 50-year-old, 16-bed facility has experienced issues with plumbing, heating, air conditioning, transportation and more.
Drains and pipes have collapsed, with one shower pipe coming off when a plumber was trying to fix a clog. The boiler system has a glycol mixture, and a sock filter within the system has been collecting the inside of the pipes that have deteriorated, leaving the leftover material magnetic. A mold mitigation company has told Jurgens there are about six different types of mold in the building alongside water problems. The rubber roofing on the top of the jail has cuts and other issues that result in leaks, and there is little storage space, meaning materials have to be put in other areas like the garage.
One room, which is a mix of storage space and a bathroom for employees, has no sink, leaving employees to walk to the kitchen space to wash their hands. The types of pipes and other materials are special, said Jason Johnston, Walsh County Highway Department superintendent, making it difficult to replace items. A door lock on the jail had to be shipped to California to be repaired when it had issues.
"If a toilet goes down, it's custom," he said. "If it's a sink, shower, that's custom. The one combination we had that went down a couple of years ago was $10,000 to get because they don't make them like that anymore. You can't really modify anything else to fit into the location."
The jail also isn't connected to the courthouse, meaning officers must walk inmates to the courthouse through the parking lot, which can be dangerous for everyone involved, Jurgens said, especially in the winter when the lot and sidewalk are icy.
As there are only 16 beds, all female inmates must be transported elsewhere. Different inmate classifications can also make it difficult to fit everyone, as unsentenced and sentenced inmates can't be together, high-risk and low-risk inmates can't be together and vulnerable inmates can't be with others.
The sheriff's office often has to transport inmates themselves to other jails, with the closest one being the Grand Forks County Jail, Jurgens said. However, that isn't always an option due to other jails having their own issues with space. Officers have had to drive as far as Williston to transport inmates, which takes their time away from working in the community and leaves the office with fewer deputies to handle emergencies. Without a jail, that's more time spent moving around inmates than working in the city.
"These guys and gals didn't sign up to be Uber drivers, to take people to jails six to eight hours away, and that's what we're going to be," Jurgens said. "We're going to be transporting 20-plus, 25 prisoners, to different facilities, and then bringing them back for court. It would be a nightmare."
Continuing the way things are now is not a sustainable solution, Jurgens and Samuels said. If the vote fails and the jail closes, 100% of the inmates will be transferred to other counties, which will be costly to the Walsh County general fund, which helps pay for the transport, according to the presentation. It won't be feasible without cuts to public services, and would end up costing about $41.8 million. A temporary intake facility costing about $12.5 million would need to be built. Based on a 20-year inmate transfer comparison and projections, including a 5% inflation factor, the costs of continuing with the current situation would add up to $54.3 million.
The most cost-effective solution would be to build a new jail, according to Samuels. The 37,685-square-foot jail and sheriff's office would have 46 beds, recommended by a consultant who looked into how many inmates the jail gets, including 22 double-bunk cells for the general population and two single-bunk cells for mental health needs. There will be a designated work release program area separated from general housing, a booking department, garage and intake area. The building would be connected to the county courthouse so inmates can be taken into the courtroom from the back of the room, instead of through the front where the public and victims are. The old jail will be turned into a parking lot.
The estimated real estate tax increase for a $100,000 home is $7.50 a month, and a quarter of land is $199 per year. However, it won't be the same for everyone. Samuels encouraged those in attendance to go to
walshcountyvote.com
to see what the tax impact would be for them individually.
"I strongly suggest that you do that to make sure you understand what the true impact is, whether you decide to vote yes or no," he said.
Jurgens said, if the vote fails, "I worry about the future of Walsh County. As the sheriff, as the guy who's supposed to be in charge of the law enforcement in the county, I don't know what our county becomes if we don't have a jail. I'm not saying that to scare people. ... Where do we take 25 inmates in the state of North Dakota right now? I don't know."
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