Editorís note: This is the final segment in a series about conditions at the county jail as officials consider building a new jail in Chisago County.
By Barbara Brown

Chisago County Commissioner Bob Gustafson doesnít think the county has any choice but to build a new jail.

The only question for him is whether it should be solely a jail or include courthouses and the Sheriffís Office for a justice center.

At a meeting a few weeks ago with a citizen jail committee, Gustafson said, the group decided to recommend that the county wait one year before hiring a justice planner to design a jail or justice center.

Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivardís expense report to the county board changed Gustafsonís mind.

Rivard told the board that if the amount spent at the jail in January alone were to remain the same throughout the year, the county could see a total bill for nearly $1 million in costs this year.

A majority of those costs come from housing Chisago County inmates in jails in other counties. Currently, Chisago has several inmates in Washington and Sherburne counties jails at a cost of about $80 per day at each site.

ìThis is kind of like renting,î Gustafson said of sending inmates to other jails. ìThe money is gone and youíve got nothing to show for it.î
The county is not only paying for its own prisoners to be housed in other locations, but if Chisago County receives an inmate from the state under new guidelines and there are not enough beds, the county is responsible for housing that inmate out.

The state Legislature last session voted that state prisoners with less than 180-day sentences must be housed in a county jail.
The county could be looking at taking a significant bond to build a new jail or justice center.

ìThe county board is going to have to decide if it wants to continue to throw money out the window or if we want to bite the bullet and just do it,î Gustafson said.

However, unlike the library bond, Gustafson said he would not be comfortable setting down a decree that the county would bond for millions for a jail.

Although the county is considering needing millions for the actual construction, a justice planner could cost only about $100,000, Gustafson said.

He said when residents consider how much the county is spending every day to keep inmates in other jails and how much the county could reap from renting space to other counties in a new jail here, the benefits are obvious.

Gustafson said the county also will have to consider whether it wants to build a justice center or just a jail.

A justice center would connect the jail with a courthouse building and the Chisago County Sheriffís Office.

That move would open the third floor and basement of the Chisago County Government Center for other government offices.
He said building a justice center would keep law enforcement centralized, allow the county to reuse available space and drop the option of building a satellite county government office in North Branch as was previously discussed.

ìWhen you look at the whole picture, what weíre going to be faced with in the next three to five years, [the cost] is not as bleak as it appeared,î Gustafson said.

Last year, Gustafson, Rivard and several other county employees traveled to Colorado to attend a session at the National Institute of Corrections, a division of the Justice Department.

There they toured several jails that showed how a planner could be used to design a jail for current and future needs of the county.

In a 2002 National Institute of Corrections (NIC) jail population study, researchers found information that backs the claims that serious crime is not leading to an over-crowded jail.

The NIC is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Justice that provides training, technical assistance, information services and policy and program development assistance to federal, state and local corrections agencies.

NIC offices are located in Washington, D.C., and Longmont, Colo.

Rivard has said some of the driving forces behind Chisagoís crowding problem are lower crimes: drug possessions, methamphetamine production, parole violations, driving while intoxicated.

Many inmates now at the jail are simply waiting for sentencing, Rivard said, and the county is using beds to house them or paying nearly twice the local rate to send them to other county jails.

ìWe have one guy whoís been in custody since March 2003 after he pleaded guilty in October for his charge, he is not due for sentencing until April,î Rivard said. ìWeíre housing him out.î

Jail Administrator Gene Gruening said the average length of stay for a Chisago County inmate is relatively short ñ 30 to 60 days.
But, Gruening said, there are the exceptions to the rule; those men who fight against prosecutors on pleas or cannot for some reason get through the system.

ìWeíve had guys in here for over 400 days waiting to be sentenced,î Gruening said.

Now imagine if that inmate were sent to another county to be held.

Inmates are shipped out of the county each year at an average cost of more than $320,000 to the county, said Rivard, who is one of the people leading the charge to get a new jail constructed.

Rivard said a conservative estimate is that the county could make about $250,000 per year by housing inmates from other counties in Chisago Countyís new jail.

When the current jail was expanded about 12 years ago to house 76 people, up from 53, the county was able to take in a few inmates from other jails. The county brought in about one-half million after that expansion from housing inmates from other areas.

That option is now gone because of the number of local inmates.

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