Contact: Jim Lavender, Planning & Construction

(941) 479-8301

NEW SPRUNG UNITS ADD 512 BEDS TO LEE COUNTY’S JAIL SYSTEM

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 28, 2000) – Lee County Commissioners and Sheriff John McDougall opened a $9.3-million expansion to the county’s jail facilities March 28 that includes eight “sprung,” or tentlike, units that will house 512 male inmates. Click here to view picture.

The project is the first of three phases that will expand the county’s jail facilities by 864 beds (including a women’s jail), add a Juvenile Assessment Center, and redesign the inmate processing facilities at the downtown jail. The county’s jail system currently has a capacity of 853 beds (453 beds at the downtown jail and 400 beds at the stockade on Ortiz Ave.). However, on any given day more than 1,100 inmates are housed at the facilities. The state has warned the county to correct the overcrowding or face possible lawsuits.

A Sprung Instant Structure is a tensioned, insulated fabric tent that is supported by aluminum ribs. It can be installed in a short period of time, requires little maintenance and costs about 10-to-15 percent less than a traditional “bricks and mortar” building. The units are structurally sound up to a 120-mile-per-hour hurricane.

The new sprung compound will include a pre-sentence boot camp, additional beds for inmate work crews, and a structured learning environment where inmates can get counseling and take part in educational programs.

The three-phase expansion will cost about $36 million and will be completed by June 2001. The construction is being financed with cash and bonds, which will be repaid with revenues from the 3 percent franchise fee levied locally on electric utilities.

Phase I Stockade (complete)

8 tent structures/512 beds

Phase II Stockade (Dec. 2000)

352-bed women’s jail

75,000-square-foot central services/administration building

(includes inmate processing, medical facilities, laundry and kitchen)

Phase III Downtown (June 2001)

Juvenile Assessment Center

New inmate processing facilities