Sheriff Jim Hammond said Wednesday he is ready to move ahead with a $20 million addition to the Silverdale jail, while at the same time closing the downtown jail on Walnut Street.
He said the plan is initially to keep open only a couple of floors at the downtown jail.
Sheriff Hammond said, "We are going to close all the upstairs floors. We are ready to turn off the lights and shut off the water."
The downtown jail has been heavily criticized by a number of Grand Juries for years as unworkable and unsafe.
The County Commission next Wednesday is set to vote on a resolution accepting the bid of KTM Builders, LLC for the Silverdale Correctional Facility expansion and upgrade project.
The bid from the Chattanooga firm is for $20,069,178.
Officials said the next lowest bid was almost $700,000 higher.
Todd Leamon, county public works administrator, said the addition will include 45,000 square feet.
There will be new processing and release areas and a new public lobby.
The construction also includes two new covered recreation areas for inmates.
Silverdale has long been operated by a private firm. Initially, it was the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The firm now known as CoreCivic announced recently that it was pulling out of the Silverdale operation as of the end of the year.
Sheriff Hammond said the $20 million addition had been planned long before the CoreCivic decision was announced.
The Sheriff's Office will take over the Silverdale operation.
Sheriff Hammond said the number of inmates has been down so much since the coronavirus outbreak that savings to his office have been as much as $800,000 a month.
He said it is hoped those savings will continue. He said officers are urged to write citations whenever possible rather than take someone to jail. Also, judges are urged to handle more arraignments and other court proceedings by video so that inmates do not have to be transported.