Officials to Weigh 2 Jail Rental Options

Just days after the grand opening of the city’s new jail, the City Council on Tuesday will consider two proposals to boost city coffers by renting out vacant cells.

One plan would allow the Orange County Probation Dept. to operate the city’s 48-cell temporary jail, which is being vacated, and rent 64 spaces in the new city jail.

All 112 spaces would be used for juveniles, Santa Ana jail administrator Russell M. Davis said.

Officials said the proposal could bring the city as much as $1.74 million a year in revenue.

The plan would also benefit Juvenile Hall in Orange, which was designed to accommodate 374 people but at times has held more than 500.

The new Santa Ana jail, with a 473-person capacity, has plenty of space, officials said, exceeding the city’s current needs by more than 300 beds.

Davis said the juveniles would not serve out their terms in Santa Ana but would stay there during their trials or as a stopover on the way to other youth facilities.

The other proposal on Monday’s council agenda would allow misdemeanor offenders sentenced to jail by other California courts to serve their terms in Santa Ana, Davis said.

Those convicted in other parts of California and sentenced to work furlough programs might serve their time in Santa Ana, Davis said, and would pay Santa Ana about $67 a day for that privilege.

Such misdemeanor offenders, who Davis said could number as many as six on any given day, could generate up to $100,000 a year for city coffers, according to a city report.

City officials and residents have long opposed the expansion of county jail facilities in Santa Ana because convicts from across the county would be released in Santa Ana.

While the adult misdemeanor offenders would be released in Santa Ana, Davis said, they would not be likely to cause trouble.

“We’re not talking about the type of criminal that’s going to cause us problems on the streets of Santa Ana,” Davis said. “These people already have a house and a job.”

Juvenile offenders held in Santa Ana would not be released in the city, Davis said, but in Orange.