Questions and Answers

Q. What is the objective of the project?
A. The ultimate objective is to enhance public safety and security management, reduce long-term costs, optimize operational bed space, and improve access to legal proceedings.

Q. How does the project contribute to community safety?
A. By improving treatment availability within the facility and eliminating extensive transportation needs, the project can enhance security while providing necessary care. Streamlined transportation not only safeguards security but also mitigates liability risks.

Q. What is the current capacity, and what will it be if the Justice Center is remodeled and expanded as proposed?
A. The current rated capacity is 888 beds. Under the proposed expansion, the facility would have an additional 48 beds, increasing the total capacity to 936 beds.

Q. How does incarceration impact mental health?
A. Currently, our facility faces an average of 64 patients on suicide watch per month, all housed in our six medical/mental health cells. The American Psychological Association shows that 64%* of jail inmates suffer from moderate to serious mental health conditions.
*https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/repeatarrests.html

Q. What is the estimated annual tax impact for an average taxpayer for the proposed project?
A. The anticipated interest rate on the proposed bond issue, based upon current market conditions, is 3.43% per annum. The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer of the proposed bonds is a tax of $4.51 per month ($54.09 per year) on a $468,000 primary residence. The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer of the proposed bonds is a tax of $8.20 per month ($98.34 per year) on a $468,000 business.

Q. What is the overarching plan for the project?
A. The proposed project provides constitutionally required medical and mental health services, a more secure transport center for inmates, a designated space for video court, an additional building for administrative offices, and community release programs for inmates.

Q. How many additional medical and mental health beds will the new Weber County Justice Center provide?
A. The 12th Street Facility would have an additional 48 medical and mental health beds and the Weber Justice Center would have 224 beds for the work & community release, increasing the total capacity between both facilities to 1,160 beds.

Q. What additions/improvements will be made to the existing Medical Health Clinic and Infirmary under the proposed project?
The proposed Justice Center investment aims to make the following improvements to the existing Medical Health Clinic and Infirmary:

• 10 infirmary beds with vital sign monitoring and oxygen support (the existing facility's 6 medical cells do not have such capability)
• 7 health exam rooms, including dedicated mental health exam rooms (the current facility has only 2 exam rooms)
• A trauma suite and a dialysis suite
• An expanded pharmacy with increased security for the safekeeping of medications
• A larger dedicated office space for medical staff
• Additional storage space for securing medical supplies
• An expanded dental treatment room with an additional “chair” (the current area has a single antiquated chair with various equipment stored along the walls)

Q. What improvements will be made to the existing transportation center at the Weber County Justice Center?

• New, physically separated exit and entry zones for inmates will help prevent drugs, weapons, and other harmful contraband from being imported into the facility.
• The booking area will be used solely for booking (the booking area is currently used for booking and transport).
• New individual and group holding rooms for the transport area (the current facility has none)
• New transport yard, which can accommodate multiple transport vehicles at once. (The current facility does not have a transport yard.)
• The transport center can serve as an emergency shelter for inmates if needed.

Q. What improvements will be made to the existing Virtual Court Facility at the Weber County Justice Center?
A. The improved Virtual Court facility will have:

• An expanded video courtroom that will be able to accommodate multiple court sessions at once (the current room can only accommodate one session at a time)
• Includes modernized technology, which will improve remote connections, sound, video, and the overall judicial process
• New technology will allow inmates to attend video breakout sessions with their attorneys.

Q. Why does the project include building new administrative offices?
A. Building new administrative offices costs significantly less than building a new secure facility. Therefore, administrative offices will be relocated to a new building, freeing up space in the secure facility for jail operations.

Q. What are the details of the community release programs as a part of the proposed project?
A. Community release programs will be consolidated into one new location, reducing the cost of securing and staffing the programs altogether. The work release program will be relocated from the Kiesel facility (in downtown Ogden) to the Justice Center on 12th Street. The community release program center will be able to host more community partners that provide services to inmates preparing to reenter society.

Q: How does the project aim to increase public safety?
A. The proposed Justice Center remodel and expansion aims to increase public safety by:

• Increasing its capacity to receive/book local offenders (in Weber County)
• Decreasing the need to transport and treat inmates outside of the facility
• Prevent drugs/weapons from being imported into the facility
• Creating separate inbound and outbound corridors will help reduce exposure to harmful substances and weapons. (Currently, inmates enter and exit the Justice Center through the same corridor.)
• Expanding video court services reduces transportation costs and increases public safety since inmates will not be leaving the Justice Center.

Q. How will the project offer proper constitutional custodial care?
A. The project aims to provide proper constitutional custodial care by:

• Adding 48 mental health beds and 10 infirmary beds with vital signs monitoring and oxygen support
• Adding 7 health exam rooms, including dedicated mental health exam rooms (the current facility has only 2 exam rooms)
• Expanding the dental treatment room by providing an additional chair (the current area has a single antiquated chair with various equipment stored along the walls)
• Providing new mental health services that are not currently available
• Consolidating community release programs to the Justice Center rather than outsourcing

Q. How will the project decrease operational costs?
A. The Justice Center remodel and expansion project aims to decrease overall costs by:

• Decreasing costs to transport inmates outside of the Justice Center
• Eliminating the cost of staffing multiple locations, which in turn reduces liability
• And, eliminating maintenance costs of the old Kiesel facility which currently houses work-release inmates

Q. How does the project aim to reduce recidivism or repeat offenses?
A. The Justice Center project aims to reduce recidivism by:

• Consolidating community release programs, such as work release programs and nonprofit programs, into one location, making them more accessible to inmates
• Adding onsite services to help address mental illnesses that lead to re-offense
• Adding community release programs to better prepare inmates for reentry to society and decrease the likelihood of re-offense, thus reducing crime and increasing public safety

Q. How will the project fill additional positions for the new facility if filling current positions is already an issue?
A. The County and the Sheriff's Office is constantly striving to improve our recruiting process, looking at steps to incentivize employment and provide high quality benefits to our valued employees. Recruiting and retention efforts are an on-going process and are constantly reviewed with a goal of improvement.

Q. Will the new facility require more staffing?
A. Because of the design and layout of the proposed facility and remodeling, there will be no additional full-time employee positions needed. The design's ability to increase efficiency while keeping security a priority allows for productive deployment of our team members.