There was a little disorder in the court Friday.

A lot of whispering was going on between the judge and two politicians. At times, the conversations seemed animated.

State Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, and State Rep. Jeff Anderson, R-Austin, sat on either side of Judge Rysavy throughout the afternoon.

In an unprecedented move, District Judge Donald E. Rysavy invited the legislators to observe and learn first-hand how busy the criminal justice system is today in Mower County.

The state court system faces a $38 million spending cutback in Gov. Tim Pawlenty's budget. Already, a hiring freeze is in place to reduce spending.

Case filings keep growing. Both criminal and civil and that steadily increasing caseload was one of the reasons cited for expanding the Mower County jail's capacity to 120 beds by 2020.

Population, incarceration grows

KKE Architects Inc. of Minneapolis and Voorhis/Robertson Justice Services Inc. of Boulder, Colo., performed the jail study for the Mower County Board of Commissioners.

"Complex criminal justice system issues determine the size of a new jail," Randall L. Lindemann of KKE Architects Inc. told the county commissioners last week.

Among the trends seen by the consultants was a moderate population growth.

There also is growth expected by age group in the 40 to 44 group and above.

However, the growth in younger age groups is uneven: a small rise in a decade and then a decline.

Thus, a fewer number of people seem to be committing a greater number of crimes.

The consultants made more of the increase in major case filings in the criminal justice system than anything else as a reason to consider a 120-bed capacity jail by 2020.

Lindemann and Glenn L. Gauger, also of KKE Architects, offered more evidence of a district court system being taxed to its limits.

Gross misdemeanor DWI, felonies and serious felonies all show steady increases.

"Minor case filings also reflect increases in the numbers of cases before the courts," Gauger noted.

The study also shows the number of admissions to the Mower County Jail has increased in the last five years. Adult arrests for all crimes are increasing.

"The average daily population in the jail increased every year between 1990 and 2002 except 1996," David J. Voorhis of the Colorado firm told the commissioners.

While the Mower County incarceration rate is increasing, it is not rising as fast as the national rate, according to the Voorhis study.

The study showed, however, the average length of stay in the Mower County Jail is less than in counties of comparable size.

The study concluded, the number of jail beds must be increased based on several factors, including classification (juvenile, female, adult and at-risk offenders).

While many jail options were considered, six options surfaced as the consultants' early favorites and for each of those options, the consultants made a case for a larger capacity jail.

The consultants concluded, "The county can consider to build for a short period of time or for the long period."

"With the numbers of offenders on home detention and the compression of limited use of the jail by the criminal justice system due to a lack of beds, the County should consider the development of a jail between 110 and 125 beds for the next 20 years," the study concluded.

Imagine this: skyway to jail

One of the jail study consultants' preferred solutions was to acquire the Robbins Furniture and Design Gallery property across First Street NE from the courthouse.

A new, 90-bed jail would be built on the property, forcing the furniture store, Thoroughbred Carpet and the Chatham Street Cafe, plus a Usem's Inc. new car lot and an Austin Housing and Redevelopment Authority parking lot to move.

A skyway would connect the new jail to the courthouse, according to one of the options under consideration.

The current 45-bed capacity jail would be remodeled into a 30-bed jail, giving Mower County the capacity to house as many as 120 prisoners at any one time.

Turning an entire city block into a county jail -- though only one of many options under consideration -- may sound far-fetched, but the man who would have the most to gain or lose if that were done said he is keeping an open mind.

"If they were to choose our area, which remains to be seen," said Mike Robbins, grandson of the furniture store's founder, "we would hope we are treated fairly in terms of being relocated to a facility of equal size and value as the one we would have to leave and in a favorable location."

Robbins said, "that jail-overcrowding is definitely a real concern and that we have to solve that problem."

The Robbins "block" began when Eli Robbins saw something at 228 North Chatham St. (now First Street NE) that others didn't -- opportunity.

His son, Leon, and Leon's son, Michael nurtured a business that is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2003.

History aside, third generation member Michael Robbins said, "Business is business. If the county is willing to make it a favorable situation for us, we would consider a move."

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com