NATCHEZ — Adams County’s Circuit Court judges have given the county supervisors an informal order to start studying what needs to be done to bring the county jail up to standards.

A formal order is expected in the coming week.

Judges Forrest “Al” Johnson and Lillie Blackmon Sanders met this week with the Adams County Board of Supervisors and representatives from the Adams County Sheriffs Office about the county lockup’s State Street location.

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield has broached the idea of a new jail several times in the past year, and the county board has approved a feasibility study by the Benchmark group about the issue. The board has also had Waycaster and Associates study what can be done to the current facility.

Board attorney Scott Slover said  after the meeting the judges told the board to study what would need to be done to bring the jail — which was built four decades ago — up to current correctional standards.

The judges told Slover to draw up the order, which they will then take and modify as needed to meet the standards they want, he said.

“Most people don’t realize that in the courtroom, it’s not uncommon for the attorney to draw up the order,” he said. “Once they sign it and we get the order, we would want to make sure we are compliant with it.”

Johnson said he was not at liberty to discuss the matter at this point, but said the court was looking at all possible options for the jail.

“In the near future, we will be trying to take some action to at least see that something is done, because we send prisoners over there on a regular basis, and it is just an aging jail that is difficult to deal with,” he said.

Sanders did not return a phone message Friday.

In a tour of the jail in August 2013, Mayfield and jail administrator Ed Tucker pointed out structural issues in the building that didn’t allow for proper ventilation, and said maintaining plumbing in the structure has been problematic in recent years.

They, likewise, pointed out cracks in the structure itself, and said that though it was state-of-the-art at the time it was built, several areas in the jail have had to be re-appropriated in space inefficient ways to keep operations moving along smoothly.

Adams County Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said he believes the board will be in compliance with the court order when it officially comes because they can refer to the Benchmark and Waycaster studies.

“We will have to look at the two studies and try to determine what will be of best interest to the county in the end,” he said. “I can’t speak for the whole board, but realistically we will probably be on the road to looking at a new facility.”

One of the issues Grennell said makes him think a new jail location is likely is a federal regulation that requires inmates be given time outside the jail structure, which the downtown location can’t allow.

“They cannot be confined all the time inside,”Grennell said. “The existing facility doesn’t allow for that because of the space around the building.”

The ultimate cost to the taxpayers for either contingency, however, is up in the air. Grennell said at this point the board hasn’t seen an estimate.

Grennell said he expects the board to receive the formal judicial order within seven days.