Building a new jail may be "the largest expenditure Fayette County has undertaken in a long time," said Peter Rich, who has been given the task of figuring out just how large that expenditure will be.

Rich, with consultants Facility Justice Group Inc., told county commissioners last week that there are a variety of factors they must consider before they go forward with plans to replace the county's overcrowded jail.

"We need to go backward to go forward," Rich told commissioners during their regular monthly work session. "What I mean by that is [that] we need to take a look at the historical data to develop trends to identify how many beds the county is going to need in the future."

The county's governing body unanimously agreed to pay Facility Justice Group up to $75,000 to complete the next round of analysis as it prepares to build a new jail. Population in the jail currently runs as much as triple the number it was designed for, and commissioners last year committed to the process of planning for a new one.

Mallett and Associates, the county's most frequently used consulting firm, recently completed a preliminary analysis confirming that a jail should be built. Mallett along with the Sheriff's Department recommended Rich's firm for a more thorough analysis that will nail down cost estimates and provide specifications for hiring an architectural firm.

"We need to analyze the court system," said Rich. Thorough analysis of Fayette's courts will help planners determine how many prisoners will be booked into the jail as the county grows, to help figure an average population and an average length of stay, he said.

"We want to take really a good look at the history of the arresting of criminals in the county," he added.

Another key element will be figuring out how many of the jail beds should provide minimum, medium and maximum security, Rich said.

His study will reach 20 years into the future in an attempt to design a jail that can be expanded to meet future needs, Rich said, but it will be divided into five-year increments because it's impossible to be accurate much beyond that.

Analysis of the jail's organizational structure also will be needed, Rich said, so his company can provide an estimate of maintenance and operating costs once the jail is built. "If you add beds, you have to add staff," he said. "Construction is only 10 percent of the overall project. Ninety percent is the operating cost.

"We need to identify the number of staff you will need to take you to the next level," he said.

Facility Justice Group also will study alternative sites and tell the county whether a new site is needed or the current jail can be expanded, Rich said. "You are kind of landlocked as to how much space you can put on the existing site," he said.

But building on a new site will have a bigger impact on surrounding areas, and Rich said his firm also will help develop a public information program. "It's very important to keep the public informed," he said. And the facility will have to be designed so that it's attractive and safe, he added, "so the community understands that it's going to be a safe place no matter where the facility is going to be."

Strategies for handling laundry and medical services and other security risks also will be part of his report, Rich said, as will making sure the heating and other systems are designed to handle future population, not just in the first year.