Sullivan County lawmakers and officials are making it clear they are not locked into building a new $80 million jail, or even a smaller facility, at lower cost, until all possible options are explored.

County Manager David Fanslau updated legislators during committee meetings, Thursday, detailing meetings in the past week with officials in neighboring Orange and Ulster counties, about possible arrangements for housing some county inmates.  Both counties indicated there are both possibilities and complications.

Fanslau also said alternate sites, including the closed Sullivan Annex, near the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, are on the table, and some form of a request for proposals could be put together.

And, Fanslau once again alluded to an option that has not quite risen to the surface in this debate.

“Somewhat of a creative and potentially attractive scenario, of rather than having the county build the jail itself, to have a private sector company build the jail, assume the risk of having the project come in on time and on budget.”

There would be some hoops to jump through with the state.

“There’s a lot of things in play,” said Legislator Leni Binder, during an earlier committee meeting, adding that they are still exploring new options.  “We’re still continuing to visit other jails.”

(Source: MidHudsonNews.com)