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SEAMLESSLY TRANSFER TO A PRIVATE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Tom Stephenson

About four years ago, Fannin County Sheriff, Kenneth Moore, was sitting around his cramped office knowing he needed a whole heck of a lotta things to do his job the right way. His jail was eerily outdated - some might even call it decrepit. At full strength he could have 22 deputies answer to him, yet stacked shoulder to shoulder all would barely fit in the current office space and there was really no functional way to add room.

 

 

Moore heard that a $7.5 million estimate that might entail the addition of 96 beds but that number would not include any new office space and the county tax base could not shoulder even that sum. The suggestion of using a private contractor prompted a "RQF" Request for Qualifications, from a few companies but that was it. The County judges were not involved in much ongoing dialogue and County architect, Gary Adams, had heard nothing for quite a while also. Instead of referring to the County seat by its proper name, Bonham, Sherriff Moore and other County leaders could have been located in Nowheresville.Now, fast-forward a few months. Project Manager, James Parkey, President of Corplan, had been furiously working on the fundraising, design and other pursuit costs. They called and said they were "ready to rock and roll" says Sheriff Moore. The concept for the new facility left leaders awestruck. The proposed facility would have its own jail and a place to house local law enforcement right now. Moreover, there was ample room for expansion and support functions in the kitchen laundry and medical facilities.

Oh....and one more thing. The $30 million facility would be built without the use of taxpayers' dollars. Mike Harling from Municipal Capital Markets raised the money through the sale of revenue bonds, which would - in effect - allow other law enforcement agencies to help pay for the new corrections facility and local law enforcement offices.

The County Judge and the commissioners were soon all on board with the decision when the powers-that-be allowed that they were not going build this unless the present Sheriff signed off on it. And that is how Sherriff Kenneth Moore came to "Help make the first $30 million decision of my life."

 

Moore had already decided to hire a professional management team to run the facility - if that was a possibility. The way he figured it hiring a firm like CEC (Community Education Centers), would be "more cost effective" and free his staff to pursue law enforcement. After all putting people in jail is part of my sworn duty," Said Moore.Next thing you know, The CEO of CEC came down from New Jersey for a visit. He met with Sherriff Moore who said, in part "I am what you see right here." Apparently everybody liked what they saw and an agreement was struck wherein all presently employed jail personal could seamlessly transfer to the private management team.Construction was begun by Hale/Mills in June and the facility is scheduled to open in September 2009. The design calls for two independent buildings with - a Sally Port and a Sally Court - with a specific area set aside for taking in prisoners. Sherriff Moore is assured of the first 150 of the 432 beds. His County inmates will be segregated from any federal bookings brought in by U.S. Marshall, ICE offers or any other federal law enforcement personnel. Thus the local jail population and federal detainees will not interact but will be under one roof. Say Sherriff Moore, "Small communities with part time forces like Trenton and Leonard and Eckerd and all the 24/7 forces will transport all prisoners to the County. And by the time any federal prisoners arrive, we should know their history, medical condition, language spoken, approximate check in time etc."

No longer will Fannin pay out hefty per diem fees (last year $300,000.00) to house inmates. Said Moore, "I'll be tickled when we make the move and not just for the additional space (the new facility will offer about 7,000 square feet and the current office is only about 2,000). But because now maybe some of that 300K we are spending can go to my deputies."

This regionalization of a county facility took some doing from the Judge and commissioners and all the way down and should be very beneficial to surrounding counties as well. As for the citizens of Fannin......they have solved the conundrum of getting what they need now and possibly expanding in the future. And after 20 years, they should own the entire facilities free and clear - which moves them a long way from Nowheresville.