Dougherty County Commission chairman delays discussion of jail renovations

ALBANY – There was some confusion for Dougherty County Commissioners when a recommendation from the county’s Public Works Committee to move forward with replacing aging jail equipment was removed from the commission’s agenda Monday.

The unanimous recommendation from the committee to proceed with ordering HVAC equipment and establishing a line of credit to pay for the order initially was on a version of the Monday agenda distributed by email on Thursday, commissioners said. However, a revised agenda sent later in the day did not include that item.

An effort to place the item on the March 9 agenda for discussion and a vote was rejected on Monday by a 5-2 vote.

During the February Public Works Committee meeting, consultant James Andrews Jr. with Macon-based AH&P Consulting Engineers told commissioners on the committee — Victor Edwards and Russell Gray and Chairman Ed Newsome — that cooling equipment is reaching the end of its serviceable life and that parts are becoming difficult to come by. Commissioners Gloria Gaines and Anthony Jones also attended the committee meeting.

The equipment, installed during the construction of the jail facility that opened in 1994, is more than 30 years old, and a failure could force the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office to house inmates in other facilities or rent portable chillers.

Both of those options would come at great expense to the county.

Some of the equipment has a year’s lead time in ordering, and it needs to be installed during the fall and winter months while cooling needs are reduced so that the chillers can be replaced one at the time, Andrews said.

On Friday, Gray said that the delay could be expensive. 

A failure of cooling equipment at the jail “could bankrupt the county” in the event it had to house inmates at other jails for an extended period, Gray said. 

“We’ve (already) kicked the can down the road for a year or two, and now have gotten what I consider a clear feel on this and how we’re going to fund it,” he said. “It’s a violation of our oath to the Constitution to neglect these priorities.”

Commission Chairman Lorenzo Heard is the person who has the power to remove an agenda item, Edwards and Gray said.

“We don’t have that authority,” Edwards said on Tuesday. “The chairman has that authority.”

Both Jones and Newsome said they were puzzled and had not received an explanation.

“I don’t know the particulars,” Newsome said. “I was told the chairman pulled it.”

The jail repairs are vital needs that need to be addressed, he said.

A review identified $24 million in needs for the jail facility, which has been in continuous use for 32 years. The first phase, which includes the aging heating and cooling equipment, has an estimated cost of $11 million.

“This has to be done,” Newsome said. “We don’t have any other choice. It’s a constitutional obligation.”

Heard did not respond to a text message seeking comment on the removal of the jail agenda item.

Gray and Newsome were the only two commissioners who voted to place the agenda item on the March 9 agenda.