The Johnson County jail is in serious disrepair. It was one of the first buildings I toured when I was running for County Supervisor in 2022, and I left the tour with a headache and a sick feeling in my stomach — it is a disgrace that the conditions of the jail have gone unaddressed for so long. It is not a place anyone should be incarcerated in or where our staff should be working. Period. The end.
And — a $90 million-plus facility should not be the only option on the table. I’ll be honest: the process by which we got to a $90 million jail design was flawed. I have extensive experience working in an engineering firm; I own a planning firm that has worked with architects on downtown revitalization projects, designing brick and mortar facilities, trails, parks, and many other projects. What I know is that it is essential to have multiple stakeholders involved from the jump, because once people have a design in front of them, it is what they understand as THE DESIGN, with little room for debate or reconsideration. Despite my best efforts, the $90 million-plus design now before us featured only a singular perspective: that of the sheriff’s department. And while this is a critical perspective to include, it is not the only one.
It is both common sense and standard practice to solicit input on the design of a new jail from formerly incarcerated individuals, their family members, organizations who serve inmates, members of the court system, etc. Why? Because the process will determine the product; because HOW something is created results in WHAT is created. The more stakeholders with direct, lived experience involved in the design process, the better informed the design will be…