Houston County to pay over $200,000 for jail upgrades

DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN)—The Houston County jail is one step closer to getting what some are calling much-needed upgrades to the jail’s security systems.

On Thursday, the Houston County Commission announced the jail received a grant from ADECA worth over a million dollars.

While that grant covers most of the costs, the county will pay over $200,000 of the remaining balance.

Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe said he feels the money going to the jail could be used elsewhere.

“Well, the jail is not something that any elected official wants to spend money on, but it’s something that we have to do,” Shoupe said. “1.2 million dollars is a lot of money, that I’d rather put into asphalt quite honestly…This is just going to have to come out of the general fund, and that impacts everything and everybody.”

In March Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza told WDHN that he has been requesting new locks for the jail for years.

This came after an inmate was able to break free from his cell and attack another inmate.

According to commission board member Ricky Herring, the grant will be used for more than just new automated locks.

Updated cameras and new alarms to alert officers of escaping inmates will also be installed.

Herring brought the security situation up to state representative Paul Lee and said that none of this would be possible without Rep. Lee’s help.

“I explained to Representative Lee the situation and laid out the facts. Representative Lee, right then, told me ‘Let me contact somebody now,’ Hering said. “The other day we got a surprise saying here’s a million dollars.”

While the grant is a huge stepping stone into upgrading the jail’s security system, Shoupe says it will be months until everything is installed.

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