County Jail Addition Still Not Housing Inmates

Ocean County officials will not rush to open the new addition to the county jail, they insisted Wednesday.

“I refuse to hurry up to open it until the warden says it is ready and safe,’’ Freeholder John P. Kelly said of what is the largest public works project ever undertaken by the freeholders. Inmates may move into the addition in the first week of October, he said.

Michele Rosen of Waretown, who is running as a Democrat for freeholder against Republican Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, questioned the delay as the county officials met Wednesday.

She challenged claims that the project is under budget.

“What budget?’’ she insisted.

County Comptroller Julie Tarrant said two bond issues, totaling $60 million, were passed to pay for the jail addition.

Kelly said the original cost estimate for the addition of $62 million was rejected by the freeholders, who changed the plans to pare $2 million from the project.

Spending to date is less than $55 million, he explained, and while the construction was completed in February, no inmate has yet to be house there. Officers – 28 of them hired in April – are trained, the facility is furnished, and security upgrades are made.

Rosen said a video conferencing capability was blamed for the delay, but that contract was not awarded until this summer.

Kelly said that contract pertains to video capabilities in the new jail. Video conferencing continues to be done in the older part of the jail atop the county Justice Complex. The jail addition is a wing of that downtown Toms River building.

Rosen said in the last week and a half there have been as many as 648 inmates in jail, while the population projected by the county’s consultants is for 650 inmates 15 years from now.

“What are you gonna do,’’ Rosen demanded.

Kelly said some of those are temporary inmates, being held for court appearances or other jurisdictions.

Freeholder John C. Bartlett, Jr. said jail capacity can be increased by getting waivers of restrictions from the state. That allowed the county to use the Justice Complex and part of the old jail to house far more inmates than they were designed for by getting a waiver to allow two inmates to a cell instead of one.

“Capacity is a moving target,’’ Bartlett said. “That jail will serve for the next 20 years. We will not be building a new jail in 10 years,’’ he said.

Freeholder Gerry P. Little said the project is under budget because design and construction innovations and Kelly’s oversight.