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Failed communication is what we have here

If they haven't already, Sheriff Bob White and County Administrator John Gallagher should exchange phone numbers.

They should even consider the friends and family plan. Burning a few extra minutes of wireless time would be worth it to avoid the poor communication over construction of the expanded jail in Land O'Lakes.

The lack of dialogue between administrators at the Sheriff's Office and their counterparts at the West Pasco Government Center helped lead to a nearly $5-million overrun in the jail construction.

These goofs aren't unheard of. The first stages of Pasco's library system in the late 1980s came in with higher-than-expected costs because of equally poor communication. The county wanted 10,000-square-foot libraries from wall to wall. The architect thought county officials wanted 10,000 square feet of usable space and designed the buildings 20 percent bigger to cover storage and other nonpublic areas.

Still, the jail is another story, considering the county has a public safety committee to determine jail and courthouse needs and the larger jail has been on White's radar for several years now.

Pasco opened the Land O'Lakes jail in 1991, but within months the county had to release nonviolent offenders because of crowding. It has been expended since, but currently is running at about 30 percent above its 726-inmate capacity.

The recent expansion troubles arose when the design plans were modified to copy a model used in Marion County. There, officials used less expensive steel barracks instead of reinforced concrete on a jail pod. Pasco copied the idea to put 32 bunk beds in eight large rooms for a 512-bed facility costing $6.8-million. The glitch came when the county learned the Marion County inmates are part of a work-release program and aren't in the jail at all times. Pasco intends to keep its inmates within the jail during the day, which means it needs additional lavatories and recreational space to meet state standards.

The changes added $2.2-million to the cost of the expanded jail, with an additional $2.6-million needed to cover the rising construction costs. The Sheriff's Office points out the reinforced steel is still cheaper than concrete and is the most efficient way to house a growing jail population. True. But it's a lot easier to devise long-term spending needs when there are no surprises from a pair of government agencies unable to communicate clearly.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 22:56:06]