An unexpected visit from two state correctional officials earlier this week sent Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless to the county commission meeting Thursday pleading again the case for a new jail.

Roger Wilson and Greg Dann of the Bureau of Adult Detention met with Lawless on Tuesday to review what upgrades had been made to the 40-year-old facility.

The county recently put on a new roof and installed skylights on the jail that remains in violation of state standards in regard to space requirements for each inmate.

“They inquired as to the capacity of inmates and they were advised that there were 83 inmates and that Scioto County was housing 10 inmates for us,” Lawless wrote in a letter that was sent the commissioners on Wednesday. “They asked what we have done to help the crowding issue and I advised that there was not much that I could do with this current facility.”

Cells are between 39 to 43 square feet at the jail, but the state requires an inmate to have 55 square feet of cell space. With those requirements the county jail should only house 16 prisoners. However, earlier this year a state official said the county could apply for a variance that would allow them to legally house 52 to 55 prisoners at the jail.

But Lawless told the commissioners Wilson was not going to approve the variance.

“We need to chip away to resolve this crowding issue,” Lawless said. “It is a real concern. We should make plans to look at alternative means. Without a new facility we are landlocked.”

One option county officials thought promising was using a wing of the now defunct Ohio River Valley Juvenile Correctional Facility in Franklin Furnace. In May, state correctional officials invited officeholders from Lawrence, Scioto, Jackson, Pike and Adams counties to tour the facility with the possibility of turning it into a regional jail.

Pike and Adams did not send representatives and after the tour the issue died.

“Mr. Wilson said there was some talk about the facility for other options but I didn’t undertake that would help us,” Lawless said.

Another option would be housing more prisoners out of the county, but finding space nearby is often difficult and more costly than keeping them in the county.

“We make phone calls throughout the state weekly,” the sheriff said. “(More space available) the closer you get to Cleveland. Within driving distance they don’t have a jail.”

Lawless said the state offered two solutions.

“Let the prisoners go,” he said. “We can’t do that. Put the burden on the taxpayers. We all see how tax levies are perceived.”

To build a new jail could cost between $8 and $13 million, the sheriff said.

Commission president Bill Pratt said he has talked with Sen. Bob Peterson, R-17, to see if Lawrence County could get a piece of the capital bill that will be debated in January.

“Maybe we can get some help from there,” said Pratt, adding that the bill is usually directed to fund economic development projects.

If state or federal funds become available, the county would possibly have to add its share, Pratt said.

“At some point we might have to have a half-million dollar match,” he said. “That would cause some chaos in our budget.”

Lawless made a final push for using the Franklin Furnace jail.

“We have a state of the art facility sitting empty when we are in dire need,” he said.