Pueblo County lays out plan for new jail

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Pueblo County’s fourth attempt at getting a new jail is underway.

Since 2015, the county has tried to pass a sales tax to fund a new jail several times but voters shut it down every time.

On Wednesday, Commissioner Garrison Ortiz announced he has a plan in place to build a new jail, all while living within the means set by the public.

A sales tax increase was shut down by voters in 2019, however, they did approve a sales tax increase for recreation cannabis products within the county.

Accompanied by some other cuts to the size of the jail and some financial maneuvering, Ortiz plans to use funds from the cannabis sales tax increase to pay for the jail.

"Obviously we have a lot less revenue than we were hoping," said Ortiz. "However, we were able to bring the cost of the project down from about $140 million to about $90 million."

The size of the new jail will also be decreased from around 900 beds to around 650. Ortiz says he does not wish to use the general fund to finance this jail project.

PCSO says the current jail is in disrepair, and they’ve said security at the jail is compromised. However, the largest issue is overcrowding.

"We've actually lost the use of our dormitory setting," said Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor. "We've had to put people who should be in cells into a dormitory setting, that's not safe for them or my staff."

A parcel of land east of Pueblo Boulevard will be donated to Pueblo County, and Ortiz says that land will be used to for new jail. It is unclear when crews can break ground on the project.

"We cannot continue to kick the can down the road, and just say this is an uncomfortable issue to deal with," said Ortiz. "Ultimately you have to work with what you have, and you have to take on the tough issues."