65A - JAIL REUSE STUDY - Laserfiche WebLink

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more vocally started challenging Federal law enforcement apprehension / detention arrest policies involving individuals identified as "illegal" alien residents. California jurisdictions, particularly cities, initiated lawsuits, public protests, and took other steps to limit local jails cooperation and notification procedures to immigration enforcement agencies like ICE whenever these categories of incarcerated residents were housed in local detention facilities. Some jurisdictions have labeled their communities as "sanctuary cities" in greater defiance of the Federal detention notification requirements jail administrators traditionally have followed when handling ICE detainees. In December 2017 after extensive discussion with a range of community residents, Santa Ana advocacy groups, immigrant family service providers as well as the Police Department and Jail staff, the City Council took steps to limit the total number of detainees who could be incarcerated in the City Jail under the contract agreement with ICE. The City Council voted to modify the ICE contract to reflect the new policy direction the Council wanted to pursue. Shortly after the City Council's actions, the Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) California Administrator notified the Jail of their intent to terminate their inmate housing contract with the City within 90 days. After this notification, ICE began removing their contract prisoners from the detention facility. Many of the detainees were transferred to a new contract ICE had established with the Orange County Sheriffs Department for the temporary holding of ICE detainees. The loss of the ICE contract reduced the average daily inmate population at the Santa Ana Jail by nearly 250 inmates. This resulted in a new operating fiscal deficit of approximately $10.5 million, not including debt service. With the reduction in daily inmate occupancy caused by several factors (a decline in area criminal activity resulting in fewer arrests and bookings into the Jail, and the elimination of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract), the Santa Ana City Council decided to focus on repurposing the available floor space at the facility. With a two year temporary infusion of United States Marshal's Service inmate housing needs due to renovation activities at their Los Angeles facility and the question of how the Jail facility could provide future service to the community and/or potential income to the City, this Jail Reuse Feasibility Study was initiated. The Study focuses on the evaluation of several key reuse options of interest to the community and Council members. The Vanir consultant team worked with the City Managers office staff to develop and implement a series of analytical tasks which were designed to identify, evaluate, and prioritize key jail reuse options for City Council and community consideration. As a result of this work, five major building options were established which would be thoroughly assessed by the consultant team and a report developed highlighting the information, results, and conclusions which emerged from the analysis. The options included two jail facility use considerations and three other facility reuse options involving (a) community space usage as a general office work environment, (b) other institutional use as a homeless shelter, and (c) commercial use as a data center. The five study options finalized for this follow-up feasibility analysis is summarized and highlighted in the following: Five Jail Facility Reuse Options Evaluated by Consultant Team i • Jail Use: Includes the continual operational use of the Type II Jail facility as a temporary holding facility which can only detain individuals up to 24 hours. ! • Jail Use: Includes expanded rehabilitative services including transitional community reentry treatment programs. • General Commercial Office Use: Includes office complex with individual offices / staff work stations, public lobby / restrooms, staff lounge and other ancillary spaces. • Other Institutional Use: Includes homeless shelter housing with supportive services space. • Commercial Use: Includes development of data center with support space for specialized automated equipment and related required staff offices and other dedicated areas. 65A-9