New Detention Center Construction Complete

The construction phase of a seven-year project officially came to an end Thursday with the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Stone County Detention Center.

Stone County Judge Stacey Avey recounted the many challenges from the project’s beginning in 2019. The judge explained that the county was forced into the new jail project in order to stay in compliance with the state jail standards or close the jail and transport prisoners to other facilities at a tremendous cost.

“It was a huge project that nobody asked for,” Avey said.

The first attempt at passing a sales tax for the project at a special election failed and the county had to wait for the next election to try again to avoid the cost of a special election. The second construction tax request passed in March of 2020 and the county broke ground in 2024.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic hit following the tax vote, and construction prices increased dramatically – so much so that the bond issue for the project would not cover the cost. By diverting funds from the existing sales tax earmarked for the road fund and reducing the size of the jail to 75 beds, the county was able to cover the amount needed to supplement bond revenue. Tax collections have been strong, and bonds will be repaid this year, ahead of schedule.

However, the sales tax approved to fund construction bonds “sunsets” upon repayment of the bonds and will no longer be collected. The county has proposed a permanent half-cent sales tax for law enforcement (including jail operation), county roads and emergency services. If the half-cent tax passes in November, it will not go into effect until April of 2027, he said.

On Thursday, Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long recognized and thanked everyone who worked on the construction, and assisted with the ribbon cutting ceremony. He said “phase two” of the project which is the installation of communication equipment and obtaining insurance, may take three or four weeks. Also, more dispatchers and jailers will need to be hired and trained before the new facility can be used.

“We will slowly transition into the new jail,” he said, noting that the jail project has been going on longer than he has been sheriff. Now that the project is nearing completion, he is looking forward to using the modern facility, which is in compliance with the state jail standards.

The sheriff invited the public to tour the new facility Oct. 13-16 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and he will offer tours to anyone who can’t make the scheduled tours.

The jail is designed to be expanded to 100 beds in the future, if needed.