PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – A drawing by Mosley Architects shows an aerial view and layout for a potential 87,400 square foot jail and courthouse complex in Chatham.
The rendering shows several buildings around the current courthouse and jail being demolished to make room, but county supervisor Elton Blackstock emphasized Thursday that there was no official plan as of Thursday.
"The entire board of supervisors has not seen the presentation yet," Blackstock said. "The board of supervisors is not going to move forward with something like this without a lot of public input."
He said a new jail and courthouse are badly needed.
The current jail has over 100 inmates, but was only built to hold 36 and the courthouse opened in 1853.
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"The jail has been overcrowded for years. The sheriff took steps to relieve the overcrowding by entering into a contract with Blue Ridge (Regional Jail Authority) to house the overflow of inmates. Right now, we are getting by but we realize that option may not always be available to us. So we want to be proactive," Blackstock said.
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County Administrator David Smitherman said that, as of Thursday, the county is just focused on building a jail.
The courthouse would come later because the county can't afford both at once.
"Financing for this project is certainly far away from today. It has not been discussed in detail," Smitherman said.
He said building a jail in five years is not unrealistic.
If a jail is built in that time, the county could start pursuing bonds in three to four years to pay for the project.
The current layout is estimated to cost about $96 million.
"The dollar amounts attached to the first draft of this proposal are for planning purposes only," Smitherman emphasized.
Supervisors will discuss the proposal at their work session on Feb. 19.