Amid budget talks, commissioners contemplate upgrades in jail with intention to eventually expand

YORK – It’s been no secret that for a very long time now, the York County Jail’s inmate capacity of 30-32 people is consistently reached and a good number of county inmates have to be housed elsewhere because there are simply not enough beds.

​Typically, the number of people being housed elsewhere is about 15 – of those who have to be transferred to another institution because there isn’t room. When that happens, York County is responsible for paying the housing county (or state prison system, if needed) a certain amount of money per day to house that person. But in the past, the numbers have been as high as 25-30, double what the facility is able to house.
As the commissioners continue through the budget journey found in August, York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier told his fellow county board members this week how there have been earlier ideas expressed about using ARPA (federal COVID relief) funds to expand the jail space. There clearly isn’t enough in the ARPA fund to fulfill such a project, but they have been looking at what it would take to expand the size of the jail.
However, it appears ARPA funds might have to be used to bring the current jail up to code before any expansion can take place.
Obermier explained how when the latest courthouse expansion was created, to house the emergency communications center, a firewall had to be created (as a barrier between it and the jail) because there is no sprinkler/fire suppression system in the jail.
The jail was built so long ago (in the 1980s), it wasn’t required at that time. In today’s world, if it was new construction, it would be. But the requirement has been grandfathered in, so it was never undertaken.
“We looked at what it would take to expand the jail and we were told the state fire marshal’s office won’t sign off on an expansion until we sprinkle (install the fire suppression system) the jail,” Obermier said.
No further expansions can take place, he was told, until the jail has that system in place.
He said a rough estimate of that project cost will be $100,000 to $125,000, to install a new fire suppression system in the jail.
Obermier said the dollar figure is just a rough estimate, based on square feet, and is not an exact amount by any means. That would all have to be reviewed by experts and bids would have to be taken.
“So it seems we cannot do anything else until we install that; we can’t do any expansions of the jail until the current space is brought up to code,” Obermier said. “So maybe we need to use some ARPA funds to get that done. I think we need to look at that project and get the jail up to code. It really needs to be done anyway. And again, we cannot do any expansions if we don’t do this first.”
York County has about $500,000 left in ARPA funds, which need to be dedicated/assigned by the end of the 2024 calendar year. The funds have to be expended by the end of 2026.
After the Tuesday meeting, Obermier acknowledged how the jail was originally designed for upward expansion at some point – meaning a second floor. That doesn’t mean a project of that type will take place, it just is an acknowledgment of how the architects of the courthouse had foreseen the need to expand in the future.
The commissioners held a budget meeting for several hours Tuesday and will continue to talk about this potential project, as well as others.