With the ongoing issue of overcrowding in the county jail, Lauderdale County Sheriff Billie Sollie has said for some time that a new facility is needed.

Sollie said maximum capacity for the jail is 290 inmates, and the facility averages between 270 to 290 inmates per day.

On Monday, the board of supervisors approved a resolution that would allow county officials to work with Benchmark Construction Corporation — free of charge — to look for solutions to the overcrowding issue.

How the agenda read

According to the agenda, the item is a “resolution stating the intent of the board of supervisors … to acquire, construct, finance, and equip a county jail, sheriff’s office and other related facilities … under a lease between the county and a yet-to-be-determined non-profit corporation … created for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, financing, equipping and leasing facilities to certain governmental units… said project to be financed with the proceeds of the issuance of certificates of participation (Lauderdale County, Mississippi Lease Purchase Jail Project).”

Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun described this action as the first step in exploring the possibilities of a new jail and “what that might look like.”

“Now that the board has [passed] this resolution, which is non-binding … we will begin a process of further talks about what our needs are, look at location, talk about a different design from what we currently have and look at the utilization of technology to lower our operating costs,” Calhoun said. “But this doesn’t guarantee that we’re going to have a new jail.”

District 1 Supervisor Jonathan Wells said Benchmark has offered its services in exchange for “a chance to put in an offer to get to build it.”

“They just don’t want to give us all this free help and advice and not get a chance on bidding on the deal,” Wells said. “We basically promised, ‘Yes you will get a chance to bid.’”

Before the vote, District 2 Supervisor Wayman Newell affirmed that passing the ordinance would not obligate the county to “a binding contract” with Benchmark.

Board President Josh Todd said “I think we would be foolish if we didn’t take a free opportunity.”

The resolution passed with four votes, as District 4 Supervisor Joe Norwood abstained.

The jail, which was completed in 1998, has experienced a number of maintenance issues over the years.

The air conditioning system recently malfunctioned as the result of a cracked pipe carrying coolant. It cost approximately $12,000 to replace the coolant, not including the cost of labor.

“As I tell people, when you have a building that’s at maximum capacity, when do you do large-scale maintenance?” the sheriff said.

On Monday, the census in the jail was 258 inmates. All inmates are from Meridian, Marion and unincorporated areas of Lauderdale County.

With crime rates rising, Sollie said a 500-bed facility would be a “good starting point.”

“There are many people who believe the facility doesn’t need to be downtown — that having it downtown is a blight to the prospering downtown construction and venues,” Sollie said.