After Iowa City gives tepid approval, Johnson County to reconsider joint law enforcement facility

IOWA CITY — The future of a proposed joint law enforcement facility and jail to be shared by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa City Police Department remains up in the air, even after a majority of the Iowa City Council expressed support Tuesday for moving forward with the next step of the process.

The Iowa City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday in favor of a resolution that directs the city attorney to begin drafting articles of incorporation for a joint law enforcement authority with the county to explore the possibility of a new law enforcement facility that would be shared by both entities.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors had formally asked the Iowa City Council to weigh in on whether they want to move forward with the project.

Less than 24 hours after the city council’s vote, Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors saying he no longer supports a joint facility and would like to move forward without Iowa City.

The sheriff does not have direct voting power in the decision, but the board plans to discuss the issue at a special work session next Wednesday.

“There is going to be a discussion of whether we still want to work in partnership with the City of Iowa City, given the political realities, tight vote, and the mayor's stated position that he does not like the site that we have been discussing, and then now on top of that, the sheriff's withdrawal of his support in working in unison,” Jon Green, chair of the Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday.

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Establishment of joint authority, potential for millions in savings

A joint law enforcement authority would be comprised of three members: one appointed by the Board of Supervisors, one by the City Council, and the last through consensus of both bodies. If the third member cannot be agreed upon within 60 days of the first commissioner being appointed, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds would have the authority to appoint them.

The unpaid commissioners would oversee the construction and maintenance of a shared building. While the decision by the council Tuesday night is not a final commitment to a joint facility it’s a necessary first step to formally begin the process.

Both the county and the city must independently approve the commission’s articles of incorporation.

A feasibility study has put the estimated cost of a joint facility at around $106 million, and reports that sharing would save around 16,000 square feet of space and $9.4 million in construction costs, compared to the space needs and cost of each entity pursuing construction of its own facility.

However, the estimated savings is dependent on site location, number of beds in the jail and overall scope of the project, none of which have not been finalized.

The feasibility study was conducted to explore the possibility of a shared space and determine an estimated footprint of the building. It is not a final building plan.

Conversations about a joint facility began as both entities started to contemplate the future of their respective facilities.

The current county jail is crowded, posing safety concerns for both inmates and staff, and requiring that some inmates be housed at facilities outside Johnson County.

Iowa City’s police department is in a similar situation. Officials have said the department’s current space, which is located within city hall, isn’t fit for long term use due to its age and crowding concerns.

The county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, which includes the Board of Supervisors, has been meeting for nearly a year with plans to put a bond issue before voters in November 2026.

A joint county/city project referendum would require 50 percent approval from voters, as opposed to the 60 percent required if the county or city alone were to introduce a bond.

Iowa City mayor opposes proposed location

A potential location for a new facility has been identified, where the Iowa City Transit Headquarters sit today, near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Highway 6. The city already owns the land and is in the process of developing a new transit facility, with the hopes of it being constructed in a new location.

City staff previously identified the land as a possible future location for other public buildings. Both Kunkel and Iowa City Police Chief Dustin Liston said the location would be suitable for a joint law enforcement facility. The city council has not voted on that proposal or committed the land to the facility.

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Bruce Teague publicly voiced his opposition to that location. It’s a stance he’s held from the beginning, when the city council voted in February to spend $31,900 on a feasibility study.

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“I am not for placing a law enforcement facility at that location site … I really believe that is a great opportunity for the city to showcase something that really highlights our values as land that we own,” Teague said at the Feb. 4 city council meeting.

The results of the feasibility study did provide parameters for other site locations, but no alternatives have been identified. Iowa Code requires that the county jail be located within Johnson County’s county seat, which is Iowa City. To accommodate the footprint of the proposed building, county officials said the site likely would need to be 10 to 15 acres.

Council member Josh Moe and Teague both voted in favor of the resolution, but said they did so with the knowledge that Tuesday’s vote was not a final decision and there still will be opportunities for the council or the county to back out of the arrangement.

“I am comfortable moving forward understanding that there are multiple off ramps,” Moe said. “There are multiple opportunities for us and the county to say this isn't working … I look at this as a city's opportunity to have a space for the police department, which we desperately need. I am not committed to saying yes to the very end.”

Council member Megan Alter, who also voted in favor of the resolution, said her vote was based on exploring all possibilities to improve the working conditions of city staff and was independent of the sheriff’s office.

Council member Shawn Harmsen also voted in favor of the resolution and said he wanted to bring the decision to the voters.

Iowa City concerns over joint authority, community reception

Council members Laura Bergus, Oliver Weilein and Mazahir Salih voted against the resolution, citing concerns about the potential loss of council authority with the creation of a commission on something that’s been met with mixed reception from the community in the past.

The county has previously tried to finance jail improvements through bond referendums in 2012 and 2013. Both proposals received more than 50 percent approval from voters, but failed because they needed 60 percent to pass.

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“Do we really want to go into a type of process that has so many moving parts that we don't know exactly how it's going to play out yet for something that's so important to community, to the community, and historically, has been extremely controversial? … If we were appointing a commission to build a rec center, I'd be fine with this arrangement, but we're talking about incarcerating people,” said Weilein.

All three dissenting council members agreed that a new space for the police department should be explored, but could be done without collaborating with the county.

“I do not think that is a responsible way to represent our community when the question of a police station and how that might be replaced can and should be separated from this tremendously controversial and historically unpopular idea of a jail,” said Bergus.

Bergus went on to voice concerns about the council agreeing on a commissioner appointment and the 50 percent threshold required to pass a joint facility as opposed to 60 percent should either entity build its own facility.

“… the reason we're being asked to do this is to lower the threshold by which such a facility would be approved by the voters … because our community historically does not support at the 60 percent plus one threshold the construction of a jail,” said Bergus.

Sheriff’s letter to the Board of Supervisors

In Kunkel’s letter to the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, he wrote that after the joint meeting with Iowa City Council last week, and council’s subsequent meeting Tuesday, that it would be in the best interest of the county to pursue a stand-alone facility.

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“When we started down the exploration path of a joint facility, we did so for three overarching reasons: location, voter approval threshold, and meeting critical infrastructure needs of both entities. The position of the County has always been based on good faith and due diligence in a process of significant consequence affecting the entirety of the citizens we serve,” Kunkel wrote.

Kunkel went on to write that he doesn’t see the joint facility as a viable option and any support he once had for it no longer exists.

Supervisors to discuss number of beds in new jail

The Board of Supervisors also has been looking to finalize the number of beds needed in a new jail, a point of disagreement since Shive-Hattery presented the results of its space needs assessment in the summer of 2024.

The space needs assessment called for 140 beds, though members of the board have argued that there isn’t a need to increase jail capacity when crime is on a downward trend in the county.

The board began a conversation looking to finalize the number of beds Wednesday afternoon, but did not reach a consensus. Supervisors will continue discussions about the number of beds in a stand-alone or joint facility at its work session next Wednesday.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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