JASPER, Tenn. -- With a potential expansion of the Marion County jail looming, county and state officials hope to find ways to reduce or even eliminate that need.
The Marion County Commission voted unanimously on Monday to join the Tennessee Corrections Institute's County Corrections Partnership, which will study Marion's jail situation and look for ways to reduce overcrowding.
County Mayor David Jackson said he and Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett met with Bob Bass, a state detention facility specialist, and several other representatives with the CCP.
"They talked to us about the jail and overcrowding," he said. "This partnership is at no cost to the county."
He said the group will take a "snapshot" of the county's jail and will seek to identify ways the county could solve its issues without constructing a jail expansion.
The jail was certified by the state recently to operate for another year, but Burnett had to submit a "plan of action" to address the jail's growing overpopulation problem. The CCP's study was part of that plan.
"They want to come in and look at stuff before we make a decision on doing [an expansion]," Jackson said. "They don't want us coming back five or six years down the road and talking about doing another expansion."
Some of the first estimates for a county jail expansion include an $890,000 price tag for 2,800 square feet that would add roughly 60 beds to the current facility.
"We want to see if we can come up with some ideas to reduce the jail's population before we decide to start adding on," Burnett said.
The CCP will also look into state and federal programs that are available to help reduce the jail's population.
"These are people who are supposed to know how to put these programs into use," Burnett said.
Ryan Lewis is based inMarion County. Contact himat ryanlewis34@gmail.com.