As we enter 2017 comes the 700-page Final Jail Study outlining two remodeling options developed for the 1980s Public Safety Building (PSB) jail originally designed for expansion. So far, a new jail on a greenfield site and cost prohibitive expenditures for the 1954 Alcatraz-era City County Building (CCB) jail have been rejected. The consultants provided a 20-page executive summary. A link to the report is located on the front page of the Sheriff’s Office website, www.danesheriff.com.

As chair of the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee, I have been heavily involved in the plan to make temporary life and health safety improvements as we close the old and dangerous CCB jail. What to do next is a critical decision that will determine how we deal with jail inmates for decades to come.

Both options incorporate the Ferris Huber daytime work facility currently at the Alliant Energy facility; bring the jail into compliance with state and federal requirements, including separate housing for youthful offenders aged 17; and provide special-needs beds for those with heath issues, eliminating solitary confinement that exacerbates mental health conditions. Frankly, our local reliance on solitary confinement is shameful and must end.

Option one adds four floors to the existing PSB. Option two builds a new building of similar size next door to the existing PSB. Consolidation of all three jails at one location creates efficiencies and reduces needed beds by 69. The consultants analyzed the community work group justice system recommendations and concluded that, with our emphasis on reform, a larger jail isn’t needed.

Unfortunately, the cost of either option is huge. Both phases of the first option total $152 million and the second option totals $164 million. Next steps include analyzing both options to determine affordability and what is best long-term.

Supervisor Rusk can be reached at rusk@countyofdane.com or 249-9667.