PDF: Grundy County Inspection PDF: Grundy jail fire inspection PDF: Grundy jail electrical inspection
ALTAMONT, Tenn. -- A deputy state fire marshal's report says Grundy County's 37-year-old jail needs an architect to draw plans to make it safe for inmates and staff.
"The county commissioners and the inspectors have known for years that the building was deficient, and now the fire marshal has stepped in and drawn a line in the sand and said, 'Now, gentlemen, it's time to fix it,'" Grundy Mayor Lonnie Cleek said.
"We're at a point where the state says it's no longer safe for the inmates as well as the employees," Cleek said.
But local resident Kelly Foutch, Cleek's opponent in August's race for mayor, said a new jail is too costly for Grundy County taxpayers, especially when so many are struggling in a bad economy.
Why spend as much as $10 million "when less than 2 percent of our people will ever use the jail?" Foutch said.
"The other cost of the thing is once you build it, how do you operate it?" since a bigger facility comes with a larger price tag for operations, he said.
FIRE VIOLATIONSThe following violations were included in a report by the Tennessee fire marshal's office calling for immediate corrective action. Other violations must be corrected in 120 days or within a year, depending on severity.* Front door screwed shut* Unapproved types of locks and latches on all exit doors* Exit doors obstructed by sleeping inmates and laundry in corridor* Exit doors not clearly recognizable* Television on steps blocks inmate movement* Corridors used for storage* No fire alarm system* No operating sprinkler system* Doors are not in natural path of egress* Control valves are not tamper-proof or locked* Kitchen gas stove not vented or hooded* Prohibited space heaters are being used* Walls, ceilings do not meet interior finish requirements for fire protection
With possible needs for two new county schools looming, "I'd rather spend money on the future rather than the fugitives," Foutch said.
Christopher Garrett, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, said Monday that some of the jail's structural problems were "in the worst category" and required quick action on the county's part.
"If the county does not make progress towards making repairs, they might have to relocate the prisoners," Garrett said.
A Sept. 7 inspection found 25 violations that required immediate corrective action, 21 violations the county must fix within 120 days and six to correct within a year, according to a six-page report filed by Deputy Tennessee Fire Marshal Angela R. Lundberg.
Violations ranged from a lack of fire and smoke alarms and fire exits being blocked by inmates sleeping on the floor to a lack of evacuation procedures to account for all prisoners in emergencies and an unvented commercial gas stove in the jail kitchen, Lundberg's report states.
An electrical inspection performed the same day as the state's visit showed 29 violations, including problems with electrical conduit, fixtures and malfunctioning smoke detectors.
Cleek said Monday that the county has accepted a bid for more than $80,000 in repairs at the existing jail to keep the fire marshal at bay and to continue operations while solutions are studied. The work should start in the next couple of weeks, he said.
Bids for a feasibility study are due by the end of the month, he said.
Without a new or rehabilitated facility, the cost of housing Grundy's inmates in other counties could run "anywhere from $50 to $75 a head per day," Cleek said, "and that's not counting medical or transportation costs."
The jail remained decertified by the state after an inspection June 17, Tennessee Corrections Institute records show. The state has not certified the jail since at least the mid-1990s, when its capacity was set at 34.
There were 37 inmates in the jail on June 17, and the average daily head count was listed at 47.
Records show Inspector Miller Meadows listed numerous health and safety problems such as raw sewage flowing periodically across floors, a limited supply of drinking water and a lack of working toilets that prevents separation of violent or sick inmates from other prisoners.
"To wait any longer to build a new jail is putting the lives of the inmates and the staff in jeopardy," Meadows said in his report.