COMAL COUNTY, Texas — Comal County will move into a brand-new jail facility in just a few months.
The construction project broke ground in 2017. It was supposed to be done in December, but construction crews are still working.
KENS 5 toured the construction site Friday and learned why setting a move-in date has been difficult.
The new facility boasts top-notch security features, enough infrastructure for future expansions, the use of natural light when possible and an efficient layout. The bells and whistles are a benefit but the space is also a necessity for the county. The current jail is out of space. Until they move into the new facility, the county is having to pay to have some inmates housed elsewhere.
“When we're full here and we’ve got to ship a prisoner out of county, it's a burden on the taxpayers,” said Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds.
The existing jail has 337 beds, but regulations on separating certain inmates doesn't always allow for full capacity to be reached.
Friday, jail records showed the Comal County jail had 273 inmates. Also, 65 inmates had to be taken to Burnet and Atascosa Counties for housing.
The cost to do so is about $3,100 per day. At that rate, the county pays around $90,000 a month to send the extra inmates to other jails.
The new jail facility can hold 585 inmates and solves the overflow problem.
The building’s design will also save the county money. A larger sally port has the space to hold patrol cars, emergency vehicle and two transport buses.
“The prison can come and pick their inmates up here,” said Sheriff Reynolds. "We can be a depot now. We save fuel, man hours, money, time, that we don't have to transport all the way to Huntsville or Del Valle.”
With multiple ways to cut county costs after the move-in, officials are hoping it happens as soon as possible.
Comal County Judge Sherman Krause says construction is behind schedule. Some of the delay is on the contractor’s shoulders. Record rain in 2018 is also to blame.
Judge Krause says there is a great relationship between officials and the contractor; however, Commissioners are withholding money from the contractor for now.
There is a clause in the contract that says there will be a fee for liquidated damages for every day the project is late.
The new jail was supposed to be done by December 11th.
Later on Commissioners will decide it they’ll give the contractor the money they withheld or keep it as the late penalty.
The most recent estimate expects move-in to happen in March or April.
The Sheriff and Jail Administrator are both ready to make use of the new space.
“I hope that the residents of Comal County…when we're finished with it, I hope they’re as proud of it as we are,” said Sheriff Reynolds.
Sheriff Reynolds says after touring other facilities, some components were replicated in this project. Several ideas from the Bell County jail were implemented into the design.
Once construction is completed on the new jail, the county plans to welcome the public to see it at an open house event.