RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — We're hearing more from Richland County leaders about how jail renovations are coming, as well as hiring and the search for a jail director.
The Richland County administrator says these jail upgrades don't happen overnight, but that the county is seeing signs of progress in elements of the kitchen, housing units and lock system.
"Fixing the detention center, getting it where it needs to be is a process. It's a journey. It's not an event," Overture Walker, Richland County council chair said.
The saga continues in renovating the Richland County jail. Although Richland County leaders say jail changes that began last November will take well into mid-2024, progress is happening.
At Tuesday night's detention center ad hoc committee meeting, Richland County administrator Leonardo Brown showed council and the public a virtual tour of upgrades to the jail's kitchen floor, ceiling and equipment, complete, adding that the jail kitchen was one of the first infrastructure projects that was approved for renovation.
Brown then went on to show pictures of improvements to lighting, design and plumbing underway at their Yankee housing unit and special housing units with 16 more units to renovate.
"I think today I probably, if I recall correctly, maybe signed two new what we call personnel action forms to hire people on from the detention center," Brown said.
Although News 19 previously reported that Brown said he expected to hire a new jail director in by the end of last month, Brown now explains the application window for a jail director remains open and that they are reviewing a pool of candidates for employment consideration. Brown's new timeline is 15-20 days from now.
"Extend a job offer, offer accepted, notice given to the department of corrections in communicating who that facility manager is or detention center director. That individual then starts working, so that would be the remaining steps of the process," Brown said.
In Brown's meeting presentation, he added that the new jail locks with technology features will be installed starting next month.
"Whether or not the fencing would need to be upgraded in some shape, form or fashion, we haven't really started dealing with the external structure. A lot of our focus has been on the housing units for the detainees and the security within the inside of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center," Brown said.
Richland county leaders explain the new stainless steel sinks and toilets in the jail will be firmly cemented into the wall unlike before when the porcelain toilets could be pulled out of the wall only attached to a pipe.
They also add that the electronic programming of these new sinks and toilets can limit the number of flushes in a certain time frame to prevent cell flooding.