Work-release program moves to new facility

A $4 million project to house inmates in El Paso County's workrelease program is expected to pay for itself, Sheriff Terry Maketa said Tuesday.

Since April 2007, inmates on work-release have been housed in a tent on the campus of the Criminal Justice Center in southeastern Colorado Springs, a makeshift arrangement meant to ease the jail's overcrowding.

Beginning today, the program will move into the former home of the Metro Detention Facility at 210 S. Tejon St., the downtown jail the county shuttered in 2005 because of security concerns.

Two renovated floors of the former jail will house 350 inmates versus the previous capacity of 200.

Maketa projects the expanded program will generate at least $2 million a year in fees paid by inmates, covering the renovation and the full cost of doing business.

"This is an offender-paid program that is completely self-sufficient," Maketa said at an open house offering guided tours.

The revenue will also be used to pay down debt the county took on for several separate projects, the Sheriff's Office said. Those projects include $12 million for asbestos removal at the county courthouse.

Under the work-release program, inmates pay $22 a day to continue working while serving their jail terms.

Previously, the inmates worked during the day and returned to serve their sentence at night. The hours will be expanded to accommodate people who work afternoons and nights.

Judges decide who's eligible for the work-release program. One day is shaved from an inmate's sentence for every three days served.

According to the Sheriff's Office, 2 million tons of steel and rubble were removed from the old county jail during the renovation. The county recycled 290 tons of steel, 5 tons of copper, 7 tons of stainless steel fixtures and several hundred pounds of aluminum, netting $63,000 toward the project.

The sheriff's office estimated it saved $250,000 by using inmate labor to assist with demolition. In other cost-saving measures, the bunks and showers were taken from the old jail and the furniture will come from the temporary tent. The tent will be taken down.