For now, SPD plans to keep its headquarters downtown, City Manager Bryan Heck said, while the jail and sheriff’s office will move somewhere else in Springfield, likely out of the downtown.
“We believe for our operations being located central in our jurisdiction is important for us being located in downtown so that our officers that are serving all of the districts across the community can quickly get across the city,” Heck said. “Whereas the county serves the entire county, a much larger area, though they do have operations and jurisdiction within the city as well and work with us on a regular basis, they also have to serve all the out areas of the county, so downtown might not necessarily be the most efficient.”
SPD has to account for several factors in its headquarters, like secure parking for police cruisers and officers’ personal vehicles, the need for a large property and evidence room, as well as training space, Heck said.
A recent study of the current headquarters by the BKV Group looked at what it is missing and gave the city multiple options, Heck said. The county owns the current public safety building and the land upon which it sits, he said.
Why does the county need a new jail?
The county has worked for years toward a new jail with the biggest problem being not enough beds to house suspected criminals as the crime rate increases.
Clark County has a recidivism, or reoffending, rate of 32.5%, Clark said. With two classrooms, the jail has limited space for programs like GED education, drugs and alcohol counseling, mental health therapy and church services, he said.
Overall, violent crime from 2019 to 2023 is up 128.5% in Springfield, according to FBI data, Clark said. Vehicle theft for the same period is up 69% and property crimes were shown as decreasing 17.6%, though Clark said most theft is unreported and he believes there is an increase.
In Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections’ (ODRC) 2024 annual evaluation, the Clark County Jail was found to be noncompliant with 14 standards, including three being identified as essential and 11 as important. Ten of those noncompliant standards have to do with the size constraints of the jail, Clark said.
The 9,200-square-foot jail was built in 1977 and opened in 1980 for $8.2 million. It was built as a 168-bed facility with three holding cells and 11 isolation cells.
Modifications were made in the early 2000s when 24 beds were added to the day rooms, but those beds are outside of jail specifications, according to ODRC.
The county has agreements with other counties to house jail residents at $90 per day, something it could do in the case of major overcrowding, Clark said. This is not the case right now, but it “is a possibility down the road if we continue to put this off down the road,” he said.
Since the jail houses an average population of 190 people a day, people who are accused of less serious crimes may be arrested and immediately released due to the limited space, according to Clark.
Credit: Jessica Orozco
Credit: Jessica Orozco
SPD Chief Allison Elliott said the inability to incarcerate those who she said need it erodes public trust.
“Jail is not the answer for every person, not every situation, but when we do have the opportunity and that person does need to go to jail but the cannot, it can create some frustrations, not just between agencies; it erodes away the public trust,” Elliott said. “And when we talk about victims and survivors, it also erodes away of that trust.”
What would a new jail look like?
A new facility, modeled after DLZ’s 2024 study on what Clark County requires, would cost about $100 million, Eric Ratts, DLZ vice president said.
Costs include $77 million for construction, $16.5 million for professional services (architects, project management, etc.), a $4.1 million contingency and $2.3 million for site acquisition and preparation.
The process from planning to moving operations to a new facility would take about three years, Ratts said.
A site has not yet been locked down, though the county is looking at different areas.
Clark County voters will decide whether to approve a 20-year, 0.5% sales tax levy increase on the November ballot for the new jail and public safety building. Once enough funds are raised, county administrator Jenny Hutchinson said commissioners can vote to remove the additional tax.
If the levy passes, county officials think they can at least get $15 million from the state to help, along with the $2 million they have in reserves. The 0.5% sales tax increase will give the county $10 million a year.
Clark County’s current sales tax is 7.25%, which includes the state sales tax of 5.75% and the county sales tax of 1.5%. This ballot measure would increase the sales tax to 7.75%.
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