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Mower County Administrator sends out letter addressing circulating rumors of facility’s closing

 

The Mower County Jail is not closing.

That’s the message County Administrator Trish Harren Gjersvik sent out to community leaders and the Herald in a letter early Wednesday evening and is in response to rumors circulating in the community and on social media that the nearly 15-year-old building is closing.

Harren Gjersvik acknowledged the rumors in the email, but stated emphatically that there is no effort to close the facility.

“I am writing to address a rumor circulating in the city/county that the Mower County Jail is closing,” Harren Gjersvik’s letter began. “I can assure you that is not true.”

Harren Gjersvik acknowledged that she has been receiving messages regarding the jail, however, in reality work is being conducted relating to a space needs study and 20-year masterplan.

“We are analyzing almost every county building and function,” she said.

“In the detention center (jail) that means we are looking at the number of beds we have, what level of licensing we have/need, what are the separation of custody needs, what new Department of Correction requirements are coming down the pike and what might we anticipate that will do to our planning,” Harren Gjersvik continued. “Our jail is nearly 15 years of age. Life expectancy is 40 years. So our facility has a lot of life left. We don’t anticipate any major structural changes that we will need to make in the 20 year plan.”

District 2 commissioner and current Board Chair Polly Glynn said Wednesday morning that the process of the study could have led to some of the rumors that were spreading about.

“We are just doing a site study and we’re attempting to look into the future. That’s basically what we’re doing,” she said. “It always seems to bring up a lot of questions and concerns and people get a little bit fearful of their jobs and changes in general.”

Glynn said that discussion among board members about the site study in question came up earlier in the spring of 2024 as a way to try and gauge where the future was and where the county might be going.

It’s something District 1 commissioner and last year’s chair John Mueller echoed.

“Space studies are not a new thing,” Mueller said. “My time at the law enforcement center we did a few and sometimes saw remodels as a result and sometimes we saw no change.”

“Those things are constantly changing and you have to change with them,” Mueller continued. “I think that’s part of our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Harren Gjersvik said sentencing guidelines and alternatives to incarceration have led to less people being sentenced to numbers from 15 years ago. She further stated that the county is acquiring data to further hone how the county utilizes its facilities, including the jail.

“By doing this space study and creating a 20-year masterplan, Mower County is simply doing what we are obligated to do — assess the needs and functionality of our facilities and processes so that we can make the best use of taxpayer dollars while providing the highest quality of service,” Harren Gjersvik said.

Regardless, commissioners say this process is just in the early stages.

“We’re not anywhere near making any decisions as far as anything,” Glynn said. “All we’re trying to do right now is take a look at what the future looks like and where do we go.”

“2025 is going to look very much the same as it does now,” Mueller said, explaining that the 2025 budget is set. “It is not (not going to change) next week and not next month.”

The $28 million Jail and Justice Center opened in December in 2010.