Portsmouth moves to purchase Hampton Roads Regional Jail
PORTSMOUTH — City leaders are moving forward with plans to purchase the Hampton Roads Regional Jail facility later this month, and might be able to move in by July.
The jail, on Elmhurst Lane in Portsmouth, opened to fanfare in 1998 with a capacity of 1,300. The publicly owned facility housed overflow inmates from Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton and Newport News. But in October, the full HRRJ board — including city managers, sheriffs and council members from each jurisdiction — voted unanimously to close the facility April 1 after several cities began pulling back on the number of inmates they housed there.
Portsmouth Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, who represents the city on the board, told The Virginian-Pilot on Wednesday that all five member cities are in support of Portsmouth’s efforts to purchase the facility and that plans are “moving in a good direction” to do so. Board chair Robert Geis, Chesapeake’s deputy city manager, also affirmed the board’s support.
The move means the facility could serve as Portsmouth’s new city jail, freeing up some space that would allow the city to convert the current aging waterfront jail facility into a tax-generating property — a goal Lucas-Burke said the city has been working toward for years.
Geis said the move is ultimately up to Portsmouth, but “all the legwork has been done,” and the board is prepared to move at Portsmouth’s pace.
“I think all the member jurisdictions that are part of the Hampton (Roads) Regional Jail would like to see a win-win situation,” Geis said. “And for the jurisdictions, closing down the regional jail was thought to be the right thing to do. And if this is a way for Portsmouth to solve their problems with their city jail, then it sounds like it’s a win-win across the board.”
Lucas-Burke and Geis explained that the next step would be a unanimous vote from the board at the next meeting, April 17. The respective city councils also would have to pass resolutions approving the purchase. Portsmouth council members may meet in closed session next week as well to discuss next steps.
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Lucas-Burke said they’ve been informed Portsmouth could move into the HRRJ facility in July. Though a final cost is still under negotiation, she said it could be “in the $30 million range.” The city’s proposed 2025 budget includes $20 million of funding spread across several years to relocate the city’s waterfront jail, but it’s unclear how exactly those funds will be used. Lucas-Burke said there are some costs associated with transferring inmates to the new facility.
“I think we’ve made a good decision, and I think it is past time for us to have moved in this direction,” Lucas-Burke said.
Portsmouth Sheriff Michael Moore told The Pilot he’s in support of purchasing the HRRJ facility, noting that building a new jail could take years. He said the facility may need additional build-outs to meet the city’s needs.
“(If) the city can obtain the regional jail, I think that would solve a lot of the issues we have in our current facility,” Moore said.
Over the years, Portsmouth’s city jail on Crawford Street has faced problems, with the sheriff’s office contending the city has neglected the jail and a Circuit Court judge ordering the city to make improvements.
In February, Portsmouth council members tasked former Interim City Manager Mimi Terry with looking into the possibility of using the basement of the existing city jail as a space that could house juvenile inmates overnight to reduce the burden on officers and deputies transporting them to court from housing facilities hours away. The Pilot reported in February that Moore was calling for a temporary solution as deputies were traveling as many as 15 hours and from as far as Bristol, Tennessee, to transport the city’s juvenile inmates.
That’s because Portsmouth previously had an agreement to house its youth charged with crimes with Chesapeake Juvenile Services, which had been holding minors for other localities for more than 30 years. But a decision last spring to begin holding only Chesapeake’s juvenile inmates meant Portsmouth’s youth no longer had a dedicated place to go.
Lucas-Burke said one wing of the HRRJ facility has been eyed as a space to permanently house the city’s juvenile inmates. As for a temporary solution, council members are still awaiting more information about the costs to convert the city jail basement, which could include repairing water issues. Members could then decide whether it makes more sense to continue that route, which may include weighing the costs of the extra transportation with the cost to make needed repairs, or fix up a space in the HRRJ facility.
Geis said the board will remain in place for another two years, though it may not need to meet monthly if Portsmouth obtains the facility.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
