Nashville Jail Funding Plan Now Has Support Of Councilman Who Raised Alarm

A crucial funding vote is scheduled Tuesday night in Nashville’s controversial jail renovation project. About $40 million dollars has been questioned, with substantial opposition from some residents and elected officials.

It’s actually the second year in a row that the Metro Council is unsure about plans related to the jail. Last year, a pitch to relocate the jail to Harding Place was rejected. Instead, $113 million was allotted for renovations to the jail where it stands.

While that work happens, inmates will need to be housed in Southeast Nashville for as long as three years, officials say. And Mayor Megan Barry and Sheriff Daron Hall are seeking an extra $20 million to fix up a temporary jail at that site. At the same time, they’ve requested an additional $20 million to build a new sheriff’s office next door.

But all of that money has come into question by the council.

Residents say they’ve been left out of the planning, and even the mayor and sheriff have had some very public disagreements.

While it’s tough to gauge how the council will vote, one key player is now on the record.

Councilman Bob Mendes was the first to suggest defunding these jail plans.

“I only am opposed to the projects if they are going to happen in the context of a Sheriff and Mayor who aren’t speaking to one another,” Mendes wrote on his blog.

But after one-on-one meetings, he wrote on his blog that he is now convinced the project makes sense.

“I don’t think completely stopping the process and waiting a few years to reboot the project is doable,” Mendes wrote. “I think the current CJC is a potential significant liability risk and needs to be replaced.”

Yet since Mendes first raised questions, other elected officials have since voiced other concerns. Two council members and one state lawmaker from Southeast Nashville said in a letter that jail discussions — including disagreements between the mayor and the sheriff — have not been transparent or inclusive.

They also object to the length of time that inmates may need to be housed on Harding Place during work on the permanent jail downtown.