Columbia County seeking a Law and Justice Center

DAYTON–Columbia County's 11-bed jail, located in the basement of its historic 1887 County Courthouse, poses a myriad of problems for law enforcement and judicial purposes, its ornate courtroom is also lacking in modern-technology capabilities, and the Dispatch Center–though well equipped–is cramped, prompting Columbia County officials to explore the idea of constructing a new Law and Justice Building, according to a news release this week.

Columbia County recently posted a Request for Qualifications seeking qualified individuals and/or firms for professional consulting services for needs-assessment and other predesign services and analysis regarding the potential construction of a new criminal justice center, including jail.

The county is committed to seeking and securing grant funding and help from external entities to shoulder the majority of the cost, the news release stated. Planners anticipate the vast majority of the cost of construction will be paid by grant funding.

With the help and input of experts and citizens alike, it is the county's sincere hope that while the current courthouse continues to stand with the people as we march through history, the new Law and Justice building will be the workhorse to advance Columbia County's public safety sector into the modern century, the release stated.

Additionally, the county will be seeking input and help from the citizens in both needs assessment and design. The county is not seeking to build a large ornate facility that will cost the taxpayers an unreasonable amount of money to operate, according to a news release issued this week.

In the following weeks, months, and years, the county will do its best to transparently display the need for this new facility, the release stated.

Additional benefits would include improvements to address The current courthouse's inadequate storage, with old records rotting in non-climate-controlled buildings. It was remodeled in the early 1990s, when computers and multi-media was not as ubiquitous and necessary as today. The current courthouse does not have the technological capacity for today's modern world, county officials say.

In addition, a community meeting room/deputy training room could be a great addition for both the public at large, and the employees of Columbia County. There are few places where the community has access to a modern room for large gatherings or trainings.

Multi-use facilities are both practical, and environmentally conscious. A community room large enough to accommodate both the public's needs and the county's needs would be a welcome addition.

The jail currently has 11 beds, including three out in the catwalk area. Cramped and dark, the jail has no capacity to separate inmates, presenting many problems, among them are: potential witness tampering in the case of busting a ring of alleged criminals, fighting inmates, separating genders, and mental health patients cannot be cared for adequately.

The jail has no dedicated booking area or interview room, holding cell, or evidence intake. It is also devoid of sally ports, or a dedicated route to the courtroom. Both of these inadequacies present a danger to both deputies and the public.

There is also inadequate storage for both evidence and officer weapons and equipment, the release indicated.

Due to its cramped size and poor layout, Columbia County is forced to send some of its prisoners to be housed in other jails around the region. Female prisoners are sent out of the county. Any co-defendants must not be housed together, so an arrest of numerous suspects would dictate that all but one of the alleged offenders would be sent elsewhere.

Due to its limited beds, there are almost always Columbia County prisoners in facilities located in other counties. Deputy time is expended transporting prisoners to and from other jails, to and from court dates, and to and from medical visits, a burden to county taxpayers, both in wasted transport time, and rent for space in the other facilities.

Transport and housing prisoners creates unsafe situations. The arresting officer has to park his or her vehicle in the parking lot and walk the prisoner in the open to the door to the Sheriff's Office. The deputy is at risk if the prisoner makes a run for it, or if accomplices wish to free the prisoner.

The deputy would have a difficult time protecting the prisoner if a victim's family or friends wanted to mete out their own justice.

Modern facilities have a sally port, where the deputy would have control from the moment he or she exited the vehicle to a holding cell to begin the booking process. In the current building, the desks of the deputies are in the same area as the evidence storage room, the interview room, and the intake/booking room, which puts the deputies at risk.

If a prisoner starts a fight while being fingerprinted, the fight could easily spill out into the office area, putting the prisoner and deputies at risk.

Columbia County's beautiful courtroom is notable across the state, but beneath its ornate woodwork, the courtroom lacks in term of the requirements of a 21st century venue of justice.

In an era of travelling judges, pandemics, and telecommunication, the Columbia County Courtroom leaves much to be desired, the release stated. In an historic building, wires required to function with modern technology cannot be installed in walls. This makes the current courtroom a jumble of wires with constant technological glitches and hiccups.

Judges from out of town who attempt tele-court often find recordings have been garbled, or defendants unable to hear the judge. The high-ceilinged courtroom's acoustics are terrible. In a county with a majority of the population is over 60, jurors find it difficult to hear the proceedings.

The jury room seats six people comfortably. Twelve jurors can be packed in, but only if half are standing or not seated at the table, this was prior to social distancing. With social distancing, the room's max capacity is six.

It is incumbent upon the county to provide a fair and efficient trial for defendants. In the area of our courtroom, we are falling short of acceptable, the news release stated.

There are also safety concerns in the courtroom. There is no controlled access for prisoners to be escorted from the jail into the courtroom, which poses a threat to the public, the deputies, the judge, and the accused.

The public elevator is used for prisoner transport, and there are two entrances into the courtroom, both right next to the judge. It would be difficult to protect the judge and the public, when both the exits are easily obstructed in the event of a brawl, or a mass shooter, or other unforeseen threats.

A new, modern building would take into account both technology and safety for prisoners, deputies, court officials, jurors, and spectators alike.

The Dispatch/Emergency Management department operates in cramped quarters no larger than an average shipping container. It is not air conditioned, save cooling dedicated to the 911 servers.

Employees who are supposed to be alert and ready for action at any moment are expected to take their breaks in a vault, where conduit wiring and loud ductwork share their space.

Air conditioning cools the expensive 911 servers which are located behind makeshift walls to sequester the cool air. Unfortunately, those same servers are sitting under water pipes in a building built in the 1880s.

Dispatch Center servers are state of the art, and could potentially bring the county revenue in the form of contracts with surrounding counties, but those opportunities seem lost because nobody wants the risk associated with the server's precarious position.

In the event of massive emergencies, such as a flood or wildfire, the emergency manager is forced to move the command center to another building, because the office is the size of a closet.

There are many potential cost saving elements that would stem from the new building. The county could reduce the burden on the taxpayers by eliminating rented offices and either moving them back into the current courthouse or into the new building. The new building would be energy efficient. The cost of transporting and housing prisoners would be greatly reduced by having enough cells to house and separate inmates. The new building would allow offices to have one point of reception, freeing employees to do their stated jobs, rather than act as reception.

Finished in 1887, the Columbia County Courthouse is a beautiful piece of history, a boon to the tourist industry, and a general point of pride for the citizens of the county. From its stately position and through several facelifts, the courthouse has witnessed the ebbs and flows of history come and gone. In celebrating statehood in 1889, railroad booms in Dayton and Starbuck, the arrival and evolutions of the Blue Mountain Cannery to Green Giant to Pillsbury to Seneca, the building of Little Goose Dam, and the growth of agriculture as the mainstay industry, the courthouse has been the county's constant companion. It holds an important place in our history, and will continue to be an integral part of our culture in the years to come.

As beautiful and constant as the courthouse is, the needs of the 21st century have rendered it inadequate for the tasks required of it. In the areas of security, layout, and technology, the standards of today have left the beauty of history behind.

It is for these reasons that the citizens of Columbia County should seek opportunities to build a modern Law and Justice Building.