Howard County voters approved a 96-bed jail to be located on Big Spring's west side for $11.57 million last year, but according to project architect Jeff Heffelfinger, construction bids have created a boon of bond proceeds that will most likely go unused.

“After opening the bids last week, it appears the construction budget for the jail is going to come in at $1.2 million under budget,” said Heffelfinger. “The total construction budget with the bids we have now — and are locked in for — is $7.8 million. With that in mind, we have some alternate plans we need to consider.”

One of those alternate plans calls for the expansion of the project to a 144-bed jail, an option at least two commissioners have been touting since work began on the project nearly four years ago.

“It just makes sense to go ahead and build the additional bed space,” said Heffelfinger. “If you go with the 96 beds, you're looking at $111,000 per bed by the end of the project. If you go with the two alternates and make it a 144-bed jail, you're going to be paying $80,000 a bed. That's a 30 percent difference in cost. If you were to come back five or six years from now and add those 48 beds on, even at today's prices, you would be looking at $2.5 million to $3 million.”

While the idea of getting a 144-bed jail for the price of a 96-bed jail certainly appeals to Commissioners Jerry Kilgore and Bill Crooker, the possibility came under fire from Commissioner Gary Simer and County Judge Mark Barr.

“We sold this to the people as a 96-bed jail, and i think that's what we should stick to,” said Simer, who, along with Barr and Commissioner Emma Brown, was opposed to the construction of a 144-bed jail when the option was brought to the court more than a year ago.

Barr said the move would put the county “in the jail business,” and could put a strain on county coffers in the long run.

“You still have the cost of an additional jailer, and we're already having a hard time getting them to come to work for us,” said Barr. “You also have to cool and heat the additional space, even if you're not using it. Do we really want to get into the jail business? I think we need to take a good, hard look at that.

“There's something you all need to know. I spoke with county judges in several areas, including Winkler, Reagan, Bailey and Upton counties, and they all say the same thing. They say they are having problems keeping their jail full. People keep telling us if we build it, they will come, and that's just not true.”

Heffelfinger said the heating and cooling system planned for the jail is “zoned,” giving the administration the option to suspend heating or cooling in different areas of the jail if they aren't being used.

“You can't allow the temperature in those rooms to drop below 40 degrees,” said Heffelfinger. “That's to protect the sprinkler system from freezing. However, other than that you could zone out an area if you needed to.”

Kilgore said the matter should be a simple matter of economics and planning for the future of the community.

“It looks like a no-brainer to me,” said Kilgore. “We can still come out of this more than $300,000 under budget. Right now it seems like we're doing everything we can to keep people out of jail.”

Crooker agreed, saying the county's efforts to keep the jail population low for cost purposes may not be in the best interest of the people.

“It seems like there are a lot of people walking around on bond that shouldn't be on the streets,” said Crooker.

The court is expected to make a final decision in the matter Monday morning, in hopes of locking in the construction bids before the 30-day limit on them expires.