Keep Bailing

Our California Jails Series Countinues…

A brand new San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City is expected to open its doors in Octobert 2014.  The construction budget, which is forecasted to be between $145 million and $160 million, will help create a state-of-the-art facility that promotes educational opportunities. Although this is not a new concept, it’s been expanded beyond what’s considered to be the norm.

Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds continues with the nineth in our series on California jails: Inside the New San Mateo County Jail.  Here, we’ll fill you in on

• Rehabilitation Programs
• Class Offerings
• Inmate Housing

On Tuesday, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of Sheriff Greg Munks’ request to file a statement of interest with the state in order to apply for grant funding for the new jail. Also selected by the board was the design plan for the new facility, Option B. With this plan, the San Mateo County Jail will be able to house between 488 and 552 inmates in Redwood City.

The Option B model for the new jail provides for a transitional housing program in order to help prepare inmates for reentering society. What program is to be used has not yet been decided.

The cost for building the new detention facility could be between $100 and $165 million, with annual operating costs estimated at $44 million, according to a district report. If Sheriff Munks’ proposal is a Read more »

San Mateo County will soon be feeling the impact of the new Supreme Court legislation calling for the reduction of inmates housed in state prisons. Under the new ordinance, felons who were once sent to prisons will instead be taken to county detention facilities to serve their sentences. For San Mateo, that means the already overcrowded San Mateo Jail will be further impacted.

One option that is being debated in San Mateo is whether a new jail should be built in Redwood City, with a price tag of $165 million. Over the next year, County Sheriff Greg Munks anticipates that an extra 350 inmates will be sent to the detention facilities in San Mateo, which are already woefully overcrowded. His recommendation to the board is Read more »

Redwood City, CA – KCBS reports a reduction of inmate visits by one day a week at Redwood City jail.  The already overcrowded facility is preparing for a new influx of prisoners as a result of the state’s public safety realignment plan.  Once the plan is executed, inmates will be transferred from California’s 33 state prisons to county jails.

Tom Merson, the sheriff’s office risk manager, mentions that due to budget cuts Redwood City jail is not Read more »

According to the Mercury News, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is planning to meet on Tuesday to decide on whether or not to seek bond funding for the anticipated new facility. The new jail will consume 4.8 acres on Chemical Way.  The County of San Mateo may end up going in debt by paying for their new $155 million Redwood City jail facility.

According to Marshall Wilson, the supervisors already spent $17.4 million for purchasing the site which may impact them financially when trying to fund the construction of the site. If the bond route is chosen, the county will seek them out over the next three years. Instead of raising taxes and using the taxpayers’ dollars, the bonds would instead fill funds for reserves.

The Assembly Bill 900, which was passed by legislatures in 2007, provides funds for jail construction projects. Sheriff Greg Munks, along with the county, hopes to be able to use this bill.

Munks stated that the jail cannot be put on hold any longer, even with the county’s deficit, because overcrowding Read more »

The land that San Mateo County is looking into in order to build the new Redwood City Jail, is about to increase in cost, by hundreds of thousands of dollars, if officials don’t close the deal soon.

On Tuesday, officials are holding a meeting to discuss and determine whether or not to accept a purchase option agreement that includes four properties on Chemical Way.

This alternate site was a solution to the original preferred site located in the downtown area. This site was rejected due to city official’s opinion that the new jail would interfere with the city’s goal of restoring the downtown area.

The new Redwood City Jail site will Read more »

Both Redwood City and the County of San Mateo have come to an agreement on the location of the future jail that is said to be built. According to the Examiner, several months of negotiations took place and a formal agreement was reached and is expected to be approved on Tuesday.

The agreement is being proposed to the San Mateo County Read more »

Redwood City is in the process of finalizing a deal that would grant them $13 million plus to buy a plot of land in hopes that San Mateo County will construct a new jail there verses one in the downtown area.

City officials have been opposed to the downtown jail plan from the beginning saying that the additional jail facility is not compatible with the city’s downtown renewal efforts. The alternative land being purchased, east of Highway 101 on Chemical Way, is considered a “very viable” option, according to Sheriff Greg Munks.

So far, the city council has been able to secure $332,000 dedicated to the real estate and environmental consulting services for Chemical Way. They are still asking for an additional $13 to $14 million.

However, even if the plan is approved, Read more »

City officials are up in arms about the proposed state budget to build a new jail in downtown Redwood City.  Due to jail overcrowding, a new San Mateo County jail is proposed to be built at cost around $150 million dollars and city leaders are worried that a new jail might put a damper on businesses and developers.

Since 2006, Redwood City officials have rallied against this plan and have gone as far as hiring a public relations company to help cease this proposal from going forward.  County officials have Read more »

REDWOOD CITY — The County Board of Supervisors are in talks for a new jail in Redwood City which has a price tag of $18.7 annually – just to staff and operate. This is on top of the $150 million to merely construct the new facility.

The need for such a large project stems from the overcrowded conditions at the current, Maguire Correctional and Maple Street Jail Facilities.  These two facilities are currently housing 1,092 male and female inmates.

According to San Mateo County Sheriff, Greg Munks, the County currently spends approximately $56 million each year to run the older facilities. The new facility would add an additional $74.8 million to that cost.

To relieve the congestion now, there would have to be Read more »