SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Sarasota County Jail has been dealing with capacity issues for some time, but in the last few years, the challenges have continued to increase.

“The court system has never caught up since the pandemic, so the length of stay used to be around 70 to 75 days per individual who came in with a felony charge; now it is approaching 130 to 140 days and it has been that way since 2021,” said Major Brian Meinberg. You have more folks moving into the county, so arrests are starting to pick up as well. In addition, you have had some statute changes in early 2024, which have also compounded things and are requiring more folks to stay in the jail longer without bond,” he explained.

Over the last six to nine months, Meinberg said the jail has seen around 1,100 inmates on average.

“Today our headcount was 1080. You can just see from those numbers, we are 300 over where we would like to be. We have been as high as almost 1200, so it is becoming an untenable position and we have a lot of folks, I think close to 200, that are actually sleeping on portable beds right now. It is difficult for inmates and it is difficult for staff,” said Major Meinberg.

Sarasota County is in the early phases of planning for an expansion to the jail. There are a few options on the table. The hope is to build a five-story building near the existing jail downtown. That new structure would add an additional 720 beds by 2033. The building would also leave room for additional capacity. The projection presented to commissioners showed the possibility of adding an additional 240 beds to the top floor by 2042. The project is anticipated to come with a price tag of up to $700 million.

“Jails are probably one of the most expensive things. We have a lot of infrastructure needs in this county. We are dealing with stormwater and roadways needs. Growing up in a beautiful county isn’t easy and everybody wants to live here, but the most important thing we have to do is make sure we have the resources to keep them safe and jail is unfortunately one of those things that we have to do, they are not cheap, but it has got to be done,” said commissioner and former sheriff Tom Knight. “This is no longer a want, this is very much a necessary step. Whether we want to do it or not is irrelevant now, it has got to happen,” he continued.

Meinberg believes the expansion will be an investment that will put the county in a good position for years to come.

“If we were to fast-forward a couple years from now and we did not add capacity, not only are we looking at potentially again sending inmates out, but the conditions in the jail are not going to get any better. You are going to see more folks sleeping on portable bunks, we are going to have issues with staffing and trying to manage the facility. There is no question that this has to be done,” Meinberg said.

Planning is still in its early stages. A referendum on the issue could go before voters as soon as next year.