LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — Leaders in Lucas County have been talking about replacing the current jail with a new one for years.
Most recently, county commissioners approved a study to look at the cost and feasibility of using the property currently occupied by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department in 2021. Now, the county is looking at other options.
Lucas County Commissioner Gary Byers said there are a lot of reasons to keep the county's options open.
"Operationally, the health department is still the best site but we might not be able to go there because of inflation," he said.
Byers said the longer the county waits, the more it's going to cost. Include the time and complexity of relocating the health department, and it adds up.
"The health department is very critical to our community," Byers said. "So, we don't want to make a bad decision and rush through things. But at the same time, we don't want to delay it and cost so much that we can't afford it."
Byers didn't outline specific property but said the county would look at areas it owns or could own.
"There is some property sort of close to the Juvenile Detention Center," he said. "Whether that will meet our specifications is still a process. It's a possible area, but again, I can't commit to that."
One thing the county is committing to is its pledge to build a new jail in downtown Toledo, a was a decision made by voters in 2018 when they also turned down a proposed bond issue to pay for it. Byers said that also means no tax increase.
"The more we delay, the more costs go up. We can't rush, but at the same time, we have to move," Byers said.
If the county were to find a site tomorrow, Byers said it would still take as long as a year to finalize a design with the architects, which puts the earliest groundbreaking could possibly happen around spring of 2024.
He also said the county it's committing some of its American Rescue Plan funds to pay for other eligible projects, which frees up cash in the general fund for investments, like a new jail.
Byers said the Lucas County Corrections Center has the benefit of being right next to the courts and Toledo Police Department headquarters. The aim is to find something similar, like the health department or the property near the Juvenile Detention Center, which are both downtown and near the current jail site.
"If we can find a location we can proceed with, that might mitigate with having it right next door to municipal court," he said.
Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre said the goal is to have a final location by the beginning of next year.