The Harris County Jail, which has continuously stayed out of compliance with the state’s minimum jail standards for months, will receive another feasibility study in an effort to address aging infrastructure and capacity issues.

Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones last week authorized the county’s negotiations with CGL Management Group, LLC for a feasibility study to address the county’s long-term capacity needs and evaluate facility conditions. Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who was the only other commissioner present during the discussion, cast the lone dissenting vote.

“We got beds we can’t use now in the jail because we can’t hire detention officers,” Ramsey said. “I would think that would be our full focus right now, is to get that done. I wouldn’t necessarily support going out for another consultant at this point.”

The approval also comes as the Harris County Jail has continuously remained out of compliance with the state’s minimum jail standards this year. An Oct. 16 order from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards again placed the jail out of compliance because an inspection team found issues with four of five fire control panels.

Brandon Wood, the executive director of the commission, said the latest non-compliance order is an improvement from previous ones because former violations have been addressed. The jail has been able to meet necessary staffing ratios but continues to outsource inmates to other jails, he said.

The authorization of the latest feasibility study comes a few years after the county authorized a $1.4 million assessment to get the jail back into compliance with the state’s minimum standards. The 2023 framework assessment plan with AECOM was set to focus on the health and safety of detainees, operational efficiencies and facility design. Commissioners that year said they had already been discussing a long-term plan for years.

County officials did not immediately provide the 2023 report to Houston Public Media and did not say what the results of the previous study were.

Though staffing levels are up, commissioners repeatedly have tossed discussions about how to address the jail’s capacity issues. County leaders earlier this year said they plan to end a costly contract to outsource jail inmates to a private facility in Mississippi, potentially shaving more than $4 million off the county’s outsourcing costs. But the move to bring some outsourced inmates back could increase the county’s jail population.

Last week, Ellis suggested that the county will eventually have to build a new jail.

“Look, we are looking at spending a significant amount on building a new jail at some point, and at some point we’ll have to do it,” Ellis said. “That mousetrap is just not working the way it was intended to work. But we ought to be thoughtful about how we do it.”

Two people died inside the Harris County Jail last week, bringing the total of in-custody deaths this year to 15, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.