Shelby County commissioners approved $13 million more in funding Monday, March 28, for a juvenile detention center that has already cost the county about that much so far — not including the $3 million the county paid for the old Core Civic/Shelby Training Center on Old Getwell Road before renovations.

The commission called a special meeting Monday to vote on the unscheduled phase two that county public works director Cliff Norville said would complete the project a year from now.

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Commissioner Eddie Jones pushed for the special meeting after Norville was told by the general contractors, Zellner Construction, that without rapid approval before April the price of the project would likely go up 10% to 20% because of rising material costs and delays in getting construction and renovation materials.

Only 8 of the 13 county commissioners were present for the meeting.

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All 8 voted for it: Commissioners David Bradford, Willie Brooks, Eddie Jones, Reginald Milton, Brandon Morrison, Van Turner, Michael Whaley and Mick Wright.

Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who was on a family trip, tweeted earlier in the day that she considered it “shady that this was scheduled while I’m on a plane returning home from a family trip scheduled way before this item.”

Sawyer has been an opponent of the project which spans the entire four-year term of the current commission.

It was originally planned as a new facility and a renovation of the detention center at Juvenile Court’s Adams Street facility Downtown before becoming an adaptation of the Old Getwell Center.

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Sawyer’s argument has been that a juvenile assessment center should have come before a detention center.

She also expressed concern that the 146 beds planned for the renovated facility is an increase from the current 135 beds.

Sawyer said an increase would encourage authorities to charge more juveniles.

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But other commissioners said the renovated center with classroom space for educational services and counseling, conference rooms and courtrooms for some hearings is necessary.

Milton called the concerns about the special meeting “just foolishness.”

“This is our job,” he said. “This is what the taxpayers have put us here to do. I am confident we are doing the right thing.”

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Whaley questioned Norville closely about the cost overrun that doubled the cost, although a 2019 allocation for the project in its very early stages was for a total of $30 million.

Ultimately Whaley said the programming and counseling at the center is important for children who are kept in Juvenile Court custody.

“We can all agree there should be fewer in those beds rather than more,” he said. “For those that are there it is really important we have strong educational possibilities. We knew something had to change. It unfortunate that we’ve got an overrun in costs here.”

As phase one renovations began, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, which will run the center, began expressing concerns that what was being done would not meet its standards.

Meanwhile, Norville was hearing about a hike in the cost from Zellner.

“That was a bit of an alarm,” he told commissioners. “The delivery times for the materials are being extended much longer than normal. … We did not want to extend the approval of this contract amendment any longer than we had to.”

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Norville also looked at what it cost to build new youth facilities elsewhere and based on those costs per bed estimated a new juvenile detention facility with 146 beds would cost the county $100.2 million or $700,000 per bed, which is three times the overall cost of the renovated center on Old Getwell Road.

Norville found the $13 million from several county budget line items:

• $2.4 million in unused state funding
• $200,000 in golf course cart path paving to be done in smaller increments
• $1,050,000 in courthouse restoration and record keeping upgrades now under design that won’t be completed by the June 30 ending of the current fiscal year.
• $1.29 million from a boiler modification and a chiller plant modification at the Walter Bailey Criminal Justice Center that the vendor combined into one project to save the dollar amount
• $3.28 million for Hacks Cross road work that the county roads project will use state gas tax money for as right-of-way acquisition has been delayed.
• $3.5 million from a fund balance or surplus in street repaving in the unincorporated county.
• And $1.5 million from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office that is part of a reserve left from the one-time bonus or stipend to sheriff’s deputies that will become available in mid-May.