IOWA CITY

When a bond referendum for a projected new Johnson County jail and Sheriff’s office goes to voters in November, taxpayers could be looking at a $94 million project that will be on tax bills for at least 10 years.

Supervisor Rod Sullivan wants the project to be spread over 15 years.

Supervisor Chair Jon Green prefers a shorter period.

And then it gets really complicated.

Supervisors V Fixmer-Oraiz and Mandi Remington strongly oppose the size of the proposed jail, and a work session that included an agenda item on bond financing turned into another verbal joust between Sullivan and Fixmer-Oraiz.

Discussion lasted an hour.

“I find it fascinating that our county, Johnson County, has about a billion dollars (in bond credit) that we could utilize … and we want our first large investment of this magnitude to be a jail,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “It’s stunning, truly, that we have had the capability to do more in our community over how many decades to improve the lives of people that are currently in the jail, and yet our first large-scale investment is actually going to be to detain them.

“And I’m not saying that we don’t need a newer facility, a better facility. It is just stunning to me and a bit outrageous that we would consider our first large-scale investment to be this jail, given that we have had the capacity to do housing, to do actual other upstream improvements to people’s lives on this scale for how many years? And this is what we want to do?”

While an exact amount has not been determined, a new jail and sheriff’s office is expected to cost nearly $100 million. Tentative plans call for a new jail that would house 120 beds with a potential expansion to 140.

Property near the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm has already been purchased.

“I still think that the project is too big and that that proposed loan amount is too much to begin with,” Remington said.

So, how long could taxpayers see an additional charge on their property tax bills? It depends on how many years the bond referendum calls for, and if the referendum survives a 60% approval vote.

“From the perspective of somebody who would like to see this done,” Sullivan said, “I like the idea of going out at least 15 years because I think it just becomes a little more palatable for the taxpayer who has to pay for this through their property taxes twice a year.”

“I think the biggest number I could swallow today would be 12 years,” Board Chair Jon Green said. “Even going from 10 to 12 years represents over $5 million in additional interest payments from the taxpayers.”

Fixmer-Oraiz suggested none of those numbers work.

“We could, if we wanted to, stop this right now,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “And actually go back to the drawing board of what is this system within what this jail is part of, before asking our constituents to fund a $94 and a half million jail over the next 12 to 15 years.

“Jails aren’t meant to grow. They’re not. It is not a sign of a healthy community to have jails that go from 33,000 square feet to 118,000 square feet.”

The Board is expected to vote on the projected length of bond financing during this week’s formal session Thursday.

Piper Sandler, a global financial advising firm with an Iowa office in Des Moines, was designated in a July 23 formal session to assist Johnson County in the financial portions of planning for the jail project.

Data Center Group

Supervisors V Fixmer-Oraiz and Mandi Remington will be part of a data center working group being coordinated by Greater Iowa City, Inc.

A Johnson County staff member, likely from the Department of Planning, Development and Sustainability, will also be named to the group.

Johnson County currently has a moratorium (ending in November) that prohibits data center applications.

Open House

The Johnson County Historic Poor Farm will host an open house from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The event will serve as the soft launch of the HPF Kitchen, a shared-use commercial kitchen for food and farm businesses. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Board Action

The Board approved the designation of $236,569 in opioid settlement funds in Fiscal Year 2027, including $125,000 to Public Health for the Naloxone and Harm Reduction distribution program and $76,069 to the Sheriff’s Office for a jail-based medication-assisted treatment program.

The Board approved a service agreement of $85,000 with Lighting Up Language, LLC, for language access planning, development and technology funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The Board approved a three-year contract, at $7,750 per year, with Cost Advisory Services, Inc., for consulting services.

The Board appointed Nathaniel Rose of North Liberty to the Commission of Veteran Affairs.

Next Meeting

The next formal session is scheduled for 9 a.m. August 6.