Lies, More Lies, New Jail Finished Reported the Valdosta Daily Times, Now It Was NOT!

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New Lowndes jail finished
Kelli Hernandez
November 04, 2006 09:47 pm

— VALDOSTA — Sheriff Ashley Paulk predicted in September that the construction of the new Lowndes County Jail would be completed without a snag, and he was correct.

The brand new, 33,192-square-foot facility has been completed and finishing touches are being made before personnel and inmates can move in next month, according to Captain J.D. Yeager.

Construction on the 16-month project was completed ahead of schedule, and inmates and personnel will be able to use a new medical center, offices for jail personnel, holding cells, visitation areas, a state-of-the-art kitchen, new laundry rooms and equipment, and rooms for lawyers to meet with clients.

All of the upgrades were designed to alleviate congestion. The problems jail personnel currently face have a great deal to do with overcrowding.

Innovative design will allow inmates to be more closely monitored using less manpower, according to Yeager.

The current jail facility, originally built to house 200 inmates, now holds about 700 on average. Kitchen, medical, laundry and intake areas are too overcrowded to function efficiently, and the innovative design of the new facility will increase both security and safety.

Inmates working in the current kitchen must function around one refrigerator, one freezer and a storage room barely large enough to store the food trays in an effort to serve approximately 2,100 meals per day. The new facility features separate walk-in refrigerator and freezer units, a larger food warmer, newer and larger equipment, more storage space, and almost four times as much room to maneuver.
New laundry facilities will feature three brand new 85 pound washers and four 120 pound dryers. Air conditioning throughout the new facility will provide much needed relief for workers, especially during the summer months.
The sally port, which is the area where authorities will bring in
inmates to be booked, has been designed to allow for more traffic and provides dual-entry holding cells which can be opened either from inside the sally port or from inside the intake area. Currently, there are no holding cells for the intake area and inmates both coming and going through the area are left in the hallways creating a safety hazard and hindering functionality.

Finally, the new medical area features four large exam rooms and a number of additional viewing rooms. Currently, jail nurses are working with only two small exam rooms, two viewing rooms and one dentistry room. The nurses’ stations have also grown and become more easily accessible. Select new rooms are also equipped with reverse air flow systems reducing the risk of spreading contagious illnesses between inmates.

The $6.2 million project was funded through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. As soon as remaining furniture and equipment can be transferred , personnel and inmates will be able to begin using the new facility, according to Yeager.

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Photos

Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times The kitchen in the new jail facility has more room, new equipment, more cold storage, and better able to cook over 2,100 meals a day.