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Show " j ' " As with all Farmington construction, the new complex has a rock facade. Farmington City requires a certain amount of rock be used in all new construction to make each building fit in with existing architecture. Justice Complex construction on schedule Jones said he feels within one month after the facility opens they will be housing 200 prisoners, and they will be at capacity within one year. Sheriff Jones said he is happy to have all of the jail related issues" handled in one area of the new complex. The courts building at the new facility offers four court rooms and judges' chambers and secured parking park-ing for the judges. The design allows prisoners to be escorted to the courtroom through an entirely secured corridor. The inmates will no longer have to be escorted across a parking lot as they are now. Other safety measures have been implemented, including bullet proof facades on each judicial bench. The Sheriffs complex will house the sheriffs department and all of its related services. The sheriffs office of-fice dispatch center, which now dispatches for the Utah Highway Patrol and has recently grown to a 15-member crew, will be housed at the new facility. There are no fences surrounding the new complex. The sheriff is certain cer-tain in-house security measures at the jail will eliminate the need for outside security for the sheriffs office of-fice and courts buildings. "Seven years ago, when we first started working on this design, we thought it would be a 20-year faculty, facul-ty, now we feel it is adequate for three years,' said Jones. He added Continued on next poge By JUDY JENSEN Editor FARMINGTON Despite the controversy regarding its cost, (see related story page A-l) the 160,000 square foot Criminal Justice Complex Com-plex being constructed in Farmington Farm-ington is on schedule. Project foreman Joe Rhoads said he is happy about the fact that the complex com-plex is being completed in such a timely manner. The three separate divisions of the construction, the jail, the sheriffs department and the courts, should all be ready for occupancy within about 9 months. Rhoads projected pro-jected that the sheriffs department should be ready by November, the courts by December and the jail by January 1991. The new complex will greatly relieve the pressure now being felt by Sheriff Harry Jones and his equipped with a basketball standard, stan-dard, and a drinking fountain. The yard will be covered with a "security "securi-ty lid," a mesh screen, to prevent escape. The prisoners may earn the privilege of being allowed in the exercise yard. Each pod may be controlled from a control center. "This is a hands-off operation and it is the most economical," said Jones. "Using the control center, one man can see into each jail cell, and deal with any problems that may arise. The water and power can be turned off from the control center, and the inmates would not be able to turn it back on, he said." In addition to those safety measures, the jail has been constructed con-structed with rebar in the cinder blocks, which are filled with concrete con-crete after the walls are constructed. "The walls will be virtually impenetrable," said Capt. Jake j "If we had an emergency where we are, we'd have to let the prisoners go." I .'W0$-1 "A 1 1 J II il Ii j ' . .'&" -yyyy--- , , - . employees as they try to work with the inmates in the overcrowded conditions at the current facility. "Lf we had an emergency where we are, we'd just have to let the prisoners go. There is no way to regulate them when they are outside," out-side," said Jones. The inability to allow inmates outdoors has been a major problem for both the deputies and the inmates. Prisoners have complained about the fact that once they are incarcerated, in-carcerated, they never see daylight again until they are released. The current facility does not have windows for the inmates, or an exercise ex-ercise yard. The new jail solves those problems. prob-lems. Four of the eight "pods" as they are called, are equipped with 16 cells, and four have 32 cells, each with a window. The inmates will have access to an exercise yard Hunt, project director for the sheriffs office. There are currently 149 prisoners in the Davis County Jail. Sheriff Jones said the new facility will house 32S inmates, with a maximum max-imum of 400 if every cell is double bunked. The pod design allows for future expansion. The Sheriff said he has been approached ap-proached by both the U.S. Mar-shalls Mar-shalls and the state to see if he is interested in-terested in housing federal and state prisoners on a short term basis if he has cells available. "I think it is a possibility if it's a money making proposition. If we have empty cells we might as well fill them for $35 per night I think that will be short lived, because when the judges know we have space available it will quickly be filled," he said. Members of the press recently donned hard hats and toured the new Criminal Justice Facility in Farmington. Davis County Sheriff Harry Jones (center)led the tour, and discussed the many features of the new facility. Here he is describing the dispatch area of the sheriff's department, just one of three operations which will be housed at the new facility. Jail I Continued from prev. page that it was wise and prudent of the county to purchase enough property to allow for future expansion of the facility. Jones praised members of the transition team who are working to put into place the smooth transition from the existing facility to the new. "They are going full blast, and they will help us make this whole thing a lot easier,' he said. Rhoads said he does not anticipate an-ticipate any delays in the construction construc-tion of the complex. 'Everything is proceeding on schedule and that should continue," he said. |