Montgomery County considers jail expansion

The jail is already nearing its maximum, McDaniel said, with about 1,240 beds of the maximum 1,253 beds in use as of August. Although Montgomery County can move inmates to other counties' jails with empty beds, he said Montgomery County has to pay for the prisoners. Medical costs and costs to transport the inmates makes it an expensive alternative.

"It is certainly problematic that you have to move prisoners to another facility and you still have to return prisoners to their court appearances," he said. "And at some point in time, it does become ineffective to have to deal with that."

McDaniel said the county is considering an expansion of the current jail of anywhere from one to four extra floors, with each floor capable of housing another 168 prisoners. Adding four floors could cost $18 million, he said, which does not include the personnel required to monitor the extra prisoners.

The county could also build another jail with 1,200-1,500 beds, which McDaniel said could cost as much as $50 million.

"That's going to be up to commissioners court to decide what the most cost effective route is," he said.

Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, member of the jail expansion committee, said the county already has $13 million from the recent sale of the Joe Corley Detention Facility to use for the jail expansion. Noack said adding additional floors to the building would completely build out the jail and expressed concern the jail could reach its capacity again in a few years.

"We have a jail that was built in 1985," he said. "To continue to piecemeal this together, I don't know if it's wise to put another $15 million into an aging building in a time when the county is only going to grow."

Noack said the county could also construct a new facility, perhaps one that could house a courthouse. He said the committee held its first meeting in August, and he hopes to study the inmate growth to find the best long-term solution.