Sioux City Times

In a close vote, Monona County voters refused to pass a bond issue that would have allowed the county to build a new jail.

The $6.2 million bond issue would have authorized the construction of a separate facility with 32 beds. 

Monona County Board of Supervisors chairman Mike Collison told the Sioux City Journal that the vote did not surprise him. He said he knew it would be close. The measure got 726 votes in favor with 548 votes against. For passage, a 60% majority was needed. The measure failed by 38 votes.

County officials said a new jail is needed because the current 46-year-old, 12-bed jail is overcrowded. It has serious safe concerns for both inmates and staff. The state jail inspector told the Board of Supervisors that the present jail is “inadequate,” the Sioux City Journal reported. Collison said the old jail is out of compliance, the Journal reported. 

The bond issue would have funded a new Public Safety Center with 32 beds. The plans called for it to be connected to the Monona County Courthouse. In the future, the facility could be expanded to 66 beds.

Sheriff Jeff Pratt told the board in February that the county often has more inmates than it has beds. When that is the case, deputies must transfer the prisoners to nearby counties, which charges Monona for the housing of the inmates. Pratt told the Journal that the county paid $15,000 last year to house its overflow inmates in other counties. Pratt expects costs to be higher this year.

Pratt told the board that there is a backlog of 96 prisoners who need to serve sentences in the jail. They cannot serve their sentences until beds open up, he said. 

He also said that because the jail is so small, space is needed for booking inmates and for psychological evaluations.

The Board of Supervisors appointed a jail committee to study the situation two years ago. The committee determined that remodeling the existing jail and expanding it would cost about the same as building a new one. 

Rejection of the bond issue still leaves the county with a jail overcrowding issue to solve, Collison told the Journal. Collison said the board would have to meet to discuss potential solutions. He doubts they will seek another bond issue, he told the Journal.