Napa County is breaking ground on a new, 332-bed detention facility (aka jail) for a reported $133 million on March 13th. The new facility is planned to be completed in 2025. According to the County of Napa, “Mental health services within the new jail will continue to include tele-psychiatry and medication and will be expanded to allow for individual and small group psychotherapy, life skills curriculum and pre-release planning and service coordination. New features will include program/treatment classrooms that can accommodate traditional classroom-style learning, cognitive behavioral groups or small group learning.”
332 beds are more than the 256 beds being discussed for the downtown Redding jail expansion. What does a side-by-side cost comparison look like for building a one-story facility in Shasta County? We have been told the ongoing operations costs of a one-story facility outside of downtown Redding would be “much less” than the operations costs of running a multistory facility next to the current Shasta County Jail. That said, does the County of Shasta have the financial means to operate an expanded jail in either case? We need to see an “apples to apples” financial analysis. Make the business case. This is worth a look.
Read more about the Napa County facility HERE.