A long-awaited feasibility study examining whether south Baldwin County needs its own jail facility has been completed and delivered to police leadership in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley, setting the stage for local governments to weigh their next steps.
The study, conducted by an Ohio-based consulting firm, cost roughly $15,000, an expense split among the four government entities involved: the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the cities of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley. Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack said the completed report should become public within the next month or two, once he meets with area police chiefs to discuss its findings.
According to Mack, the study confirms there is a genuine need for additional jail capacity in the county’s southern half and finds that consolidating booking and holding operations among the four entities is a viable path forward. The report identifies a potential site somewhere in the area spanning south Foley and north Gulf Shores, near the Foley Beach Express corridor.
Estimated construction costs range broadly from roughly $30 million to $50 million, a spread Mack attributed to whether the facility is built out fully from the start or expanded in phases. He said the recommended minimum size is a 100-bed facility, though the fuller vision calls for capacity exceeding 200 beds to keep pace with growth along the county’s southern coastline. Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said pooling resources across the involved cities and the county should create efficiencies that benefit taxpayers, and Mack noted federal funding could also help offset costs.
The push for a new facility stems largely from strain on existing infrastructure. The Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette is rated for up to 700 inmates but currently operates with about 650 beds. Each coastal city also runs its own smaller jail for non-felony offenders, with Foley’s 55-cell facility the largest of the three. Gulf Shores’ jail, more than 40 years old, is particularly ill-suited to handle the surge in arrests that accompanies Spring Break and peak tourist season.
Mack said roughly 80 percent of arrests countywide involve people living south of Interstate 10, meaning a south Baldwin facility could handle the bulk of local bookings and relieve pressure on the Bay Minette facility. He also raised the possibility of relocating the county’s community corrections work-release program, which places select inmates in jobs mostly located south of I-10, to a new southern site.
Transportation logistics remain a significant driver behind the proposal. Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said the roughly hour-long drive required to transport inmates to Bay Minette currently pulls an officer and patrol car off the street during peak tourist periods when staffing is already stretched thin. Officials see the Foley Beach Express corridor as a relatively uncontroversial site, given its rural, commercially zoned character and its direct connection to the beach cities and Interstate 10.
No formal decision on funding, design or a construction timeline has been made, but officials say the completed study gives the four governments a concrete basis for negotiating a path toward a shared regional facility.