LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake has received $20 million in construction funding from the state to upgrade the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
This funding will allow for the improvement of the Lake County jail to meet the standards set forth in California’s new public safety realignment goals, county officials said in a Friday report.
Lake County will use the money to fund a new type II, 40-bed women’s jail with a new standalone 39-bed medical/mental health services building with program space, a new administration building, and renovations so that existing space can accommodate rehabilitative programs, according to the County Administrative Office.
Presentations were made to a steering committee of the Board of State and Community Corrections in Sacramento this past Dec. 4 and 5, the county reported.
Thirty-six counties applied for a total of $500 million in funding, and on Thursday the Board of State and Community Corrections announced it was making awards to 15 of those counties.
“The winning proposal was created through a truly collaborative effort of a diverse team, with participation from members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Administrative Office, Public Works Department, Community Development Department, County Counsel’s Office, and Assessor-Recorder’s Office,” said Denise Rushing, chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
The funding is the result of SB 1022, which provided for the issuance of lease revenue bonds to help finance jail modifications to deal with the influx of nonserious, nonviolent, non-sex
offenders.
These offenders are being sentenced to the county jail instead of state prison pursuant to AB 109, the Public Safety Realignment bill, which took effect in October 2011.
The local impact of AB 109 on the Hill Road Correctional Facility has caused a significant strain on the average daily population at the jail, with nearly 30 percent of monthly bookings being convicted and
sentenced offenders, the county reported.
“The strain on our local jail from Public Safety Realignment will continue to grow, and financing the necessary upgrades just would not have happened with only local dollars,” said Rushing. “The SB 1022 funding will provide the opportunity for local rehabilitation through the new program space to be built.”
Receipt of SB 1022 funding requires a 10-percent local match, although Lake County received authorization for a reduction to a 5-percent match due to its status as a “small county,” according to county officials. This match includes cash and in-kind contributions such as existing land value.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has appropriated $650,000 of local matching funds towards the project from the Rural and Small Counties Sheriff’s Fund.
The county does not expect to spend any local general fund dollars on the project.
A key component of AB 109 is the rehabilitation of offenders in an effort to reduce recidivism. The state is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in local rehabilitation and crime-preventing programs to continue to improve public safety in local communities, according to the Board of State and Community Corrections.
Other counties receiving Board of State and Community Corrections awards in this round of funding included Napa County, $13,474,000; Tuolumne County, $20 million; Kings County, $20 million; Shasta County, $20 million; Tehama County, $6.5 million; Santa Cruz County, $24,635,000; Santa Barbara County, $38,976,000; Solano County, $23 million; Tulare County, $40 million; San Joaquin County, $33.3 million; San Mateo County, $24,374,000; Fresno County, $79,194,000; Orange County, $80 million; Sacramento County, $56.4 million.