There has been an abundance of misinformation recently concerning the closure of the Metro High Security Detention Facility. In an attempt to circulate accurate information we need to start by stating unequivocally that the decision to close Metro was made by the unanimous vote of the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, not the sheriff. This decision was made following a presentation to the BOCC on Nov. 22, 2004 and the move was completed in March 2005.The previous board authorized the closure of Metro Jail and a majority of the current board congratulated the sheriff and his staff for a job well done when the move was completed. These actions alone show the decision to close Metro Jail has been supported by both the previous BOCC and the current BOCC.The decision to close the Metro Jail was not made on the recommendation of any one individual or even a team of county staffers. When the seriousness of the issues concerning faulty door mechanisms came to light, a facilities management consulting firm, who at that time was under contract to the county, was consulted for their recommendation. They determined they were not qualified to address the unique needs of a detention facility and recommended Robert Glass & Associates.Passing over the lengthy details of the report from the consultant and cutting to the chase, the recommendation was to close the Metro Jail immediately. This recommendation came due to not only the potential of the doors to be jammed in either a locked or unlocked position, but the potential for that happening during a disturbance situation where a fire may be started and our inability to remove the resulting smoke from the facility. To the credit of the judges, sheriff and BOCC, they were not willing to put the public at risk by reducing the number of people in the El Paso County jails. The decision was made to add additional fire extinguishers, temporary fans for air handling, purchase breathing apparatus for use in the event of a rescue situation and create a “Life Safety Control Officer” to regularly inspect the facility to mitigate the life safety issues for the inmates until they could be removed from the Metro Jail.The cost of upgrading Metro Jail to an acceptable facility was addressed. When it became obvious the cost for the necessary upgrades well exceeded practical consideration and we would still have a substandard facility due to the original design, refurbishing became a moot point. As one of the commissioners pointed out, this building has been “band aided” for years and spending millions for temporary fixes was not good policy. The recent completion of the new medium security tower at CJC allowed the county, with some additional staffing, to move the higher security inmates into the old CJC facility with minimal upgrades, such as higher grade of locking mechanisms on the doors.No one likes to deal with jail issues and the offenders that fill them, but we all expect to be safe in our homes and communities.Dennis HiseyCounty commissioner District 4
