LAWRENCE — The Douglas County Commission is considering a plan to add between 84 and 154 beds to the county jail.
Undersheriff Gary Bunting and Assistant County Administrator Sarah Plinsky presented the plan Wednesday. The commission asked for a plan that would allow the county to stop housing 50 to 80 inmates in other counties. Commissioners also want more room for work-release and re-entry programs, and enough beds to separate inmates of different security classifications.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports one option includes building a central south tower to provide from three to four new incarceration pods, which would each house 28 inmates. Cost estimates were not presented.
In May, county voters rejected a $44 million jail expansion proposal that would have added 93,200 square feet in jail space and 178 beds.
