Fulton County leaders consider SPLOST to cover new $1.7B jail proposal
Nearly $2B proposal to replace Fulton County Jail
The fate of a new Fulton County Jail lies in the hands of county commissioners who are considering a nearly $2 billion proposal to build a replacement facility. It comes after the deaths of 10 inmates at the Rice Street jail in 2023 alone. FOX 5 has reported stories about inmates dying in bed bug infested cells, others tunneling through walls and even using crumbling walls as weapons. The Department of Justice is currently investigating the facility.
ATLANTA - Fulton County commissioners are considering a nearly $2 billion proposal to build a new jail. This comes as the current facility on Rice Street sits in disrepair and almost a dozen in-custody deaths were reported this year alone.
It’s a race against the clock for county commissioners to get the massive $1.7 billion project going with costs for construction increasing by the day.
"It looks like we’re going to have to spend close to $2 billion," District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said Wednesday. "They’re saying we’ve gotta start getting RFP’s in the first quarter of 2024 if we want to have a chance at getting this jail built by 2029."
For months, reports of horrid and inhumane conditions have plagued the jail facility. So far in 2023, 10 inmates have been found dead. Last year, a deceased inmate at the facility was found covered in bed bugs, prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation.
At Wednesday’s commission meeting, county leaders expressed concerns about the cost, but District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington says they don’t have much of an option.
"It is literally crumbling apart. The inmates, as we have seen, are taking metal out of the concrete and using it to assault other inmates."
The proposal includes a radically different facility and a switch to direct supervision of inmates. The building itself would triple in size and bed space and be built behind the current facility, which would eventually be torn down.
Around 30%of housing would be dedicated to inmates with medical and mental health issues.
It’s a drastic increase from the 2 percent currently serving the inmate population where an estimated 50 percent are dealing with mental health issues.
"We still gotta take care of these inmates…we have to make sure that they’re housed in a safe fashion and that their welfare is provided for," Arrington told FOX 5.
The high price tag has county leaders now considering other options on how to pay for it.
"They’re trying to do some type of hybrid between a public private partnership and the issuance of bonds in order to build it, but I think Commissioner Ellis is right we may also have to look at some sales taxes which will require us going to the voters," he explained.
The completion date on this is projected for 2029. Their goal is to transition inmates from being sent to other facilities back to the Fulton Jail by 2031. Commissioners will meet again to discuss this at their next meeting on December 20.