Plans to reconfigure and enlarge the Butte County jail took another step forward Tuesday as the Butte County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved revised proposal.
When all is said and done, the jail will be able to house 666 inmates, up from 614 today.
The existing jail was built half a century ago and expanded in the mid-90s. Cells in the original building will be turned into program and classroom space. Sheriff Korey Honea said rehabilitation of inmates depends on such programs and that the new facility will also improve conditions in other ways.
“Better care for people with mental health and medical issues, a jail that will provide more programming space,” Honea said. “The current jail that I have was never designed to hold offenders for lengthy periods of time.”
The state will pick up 90 percent of the cost. The county’s portion will be raised through an additional fee tacked on to building permits in Butte County.
Tuesday’s vote moved the location of the proposed facility a few hundred feet. The new location frees the county from some environmental remediation, but will require officials to tear down and replace the sheriff’s office evidence room and morgue, which is also considered obsolete.