Second jail report confirms first
BROOKSVILLE –
A second engineering report of the Hernando County Jail backs up the findings of the first one – the facility is structurally sound.
This latest report, prepared by Cathy Tiedge with Orlando-based Heery International Inc., found “no visually apparent structural issues.”
There was no evidence that wall footings are experiencing any signs of settling and the sealant between the facility’s precast units “is in good condition and it is not showing any signs of distortion due to movement.”
A field visit to the site in April found what appears to be excessive cracking of one of the slabs but even that was downplayed in the report.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) paid for this latest report. An earlier study, performed by Tampa-based Bracken Engineering for the county’s insurance carrier, reached similar conclusions, that most of the repairs needed at the jail are cosmetic and not structural in nature.
That report was paid for by the insurance company and the county did not incur any costs.
After the first report came out, Hamilton said he would ask commissioners at their July 13 meeting to hire another structural engineering firm to look further into the entire facility and with a broader scope.
County Commissioner Jeff Stabins said Friday he won’t support that.
“I think two reports pretty much do the trick,” Stabins said.
It would be a waste of money, he said.
“What I’m afraid of is, if that one comes back with no serious issues, what are we going to do, hire another one?” he asked. “It’s great for the engineering firms. But at some point, we have to hold on to our tax money.”
The county budgets $100,000 annually for major jail maintenance repairs. There’s about $69,000 left in that line item.
Stabins said that should more than cover the cost of the cosmetic improvements needed at the jail, which includes fixing the rusty doors and the slabs. It’s time to get on with fixing the place up, instead of requesting more reports, he said.
County commissioners set aside $3 million in reserves after Sheriff Richard Nugent told them in April he believed the facility was deteriorating and had major flaws. In a slide presentation, Nugent showed roof leaks, rusted doors, safety problems, cracks and separations on the concrete floor, walls and ceiling.
“There is water leaking into spaces that contain electrical wiring,” Nugent said during his presentation. “There are cracks and separation in the concrete floor, walls and ceiling that you wouldn’t accept in your own home, much less a facility that houses hundreds of people.”
Shortly after that report, Purchasing Director Jim Gantt was suspended without pay for, among other things, failing to keep track of conditions at the jail. His job has since been eliminated.
The county-hired jail monitor, Barbara Fisher, who reported to Gantt, is also in danger of losing her job.
After the results of the first study, both Nugent and County Administrator David Hamilton downplayed the results, saying it provided only a limited view of one part of the facility, namely the five-year-old expansion of the jail.
Nugent said the scope of the report was narrowly focused, as intended.
“It did not address other facility issues such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, security, etc.,” he said.
Hamilton said this latest report is welcome but it still only covers the housing pod, which is the latest expansion of the jail.
“Now the entire complex needs to be looked at and it needs to be looked at in a broader context,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said he wants a report that includes information about such internal infrastructure as design, heating, air conditioning, ventilation and wiring.
He still plans to recommend a structural engineer be hired and stressed neither of the two previous reports were paid for by the county.
Sgt. Donna Black, spokeswoman with the sheriff’s office, said Friday afternoon that Nugent had not seen a copy of the second engineering report and it is up to the county to comment on it.
“(This) proves to me there’s no structural damage,” Commissioner Jim Adkins said. “It’s just routine maintenance.”
Adkins said he doubts the county will need to use the full $3 million to make the needed repairs.
The sheriff’s presentation “showed a worse scenario” than actually exists at the jail, he said.
However, Adkins believes routine maintenance has been neglected over the years and a better job should have been done by CCA or the county’s purchasing department to alert the board.
“Even though they weren’t structural (problems), it’s a government building and a government building should be kept up,” he said.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or [email protected].
