WASHBURN - McLean County Sheriff Don Charging said his jail worked well when horse thieves were locked up here a century ago.

The grim, dank and dimly lit lockup, believed to be the oldest functioning county jail in the state, contains asbestos and is slathered with layers of lead paint, Charging said. The foundation is crumbling. And the entrance to a pod of cells must be chained open because there is no longer a key to unlock it, he said.

Inmates are served TV dinners in the kitchen-less facility that also houses the sheriff, deputies and staff. The facility is not accessible to handicapped people.

"The county has got its money out of it," said Ladd Erickson, the McLean County state's attorney. "But at some point, the state will shut us down."

McLean County voters will be asked on June 13 to approve a $3.5 million law enforcement facility. The county is one of several in the state looking to replace aging, obsolete or overcrowded jails.

Voters in Williams County will be asked on June 13 to approve a $15 million, 71,000-square-foot facility, to replace the current jail and law enforcement center. And in Valley City, residents on that day will decide whether to put a planned $6 million seven-county regional jail to a vote.

Thirty-one of North Dakota's 53 counties have a jail, said Steve Engen, the training director and jail inspector for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

All jails in North Dakota complied with state law during annual inspections a year ago. This year's inspections won't be complete until year's end, he said.

Terry Traynor, assistant director of the state Association of Counties, said a study by his group in February showed that space for more than 600 additional inmates statewide is being proposed or discussed.

"It's a very important issue for counties," he said.

In McLean County, it's the most important issue, Charging said. "It's paramount that we have a new jail," he said

The cornerstone at the McLean County jail was placed 100 years ago, with construction completed a year later, in 1907, Charging said. An addition was added in 1972, to bump the capacity to 11 prisoners, its current limit.

Charging said the number of prisoners has quadrupled since he became sheriff eight years ago. Meth is a big factor, he said.

McLean County officials want to use about $1 million in from the county's savings, along with grants and loans, to pay for the new jail.

Dickey, Ransom, Sargent, Griggs, Steele, Barnes County and LaMoure, as well as the city of Valley City, support the idea of the regional jail in Valley City, said Valley City Commissioner Jon Wagar. He chairs a committee backing the facility, which would replace the Barnes County jail, built in 1909.

Riley Rogers, Valley City's 80-year-old mayor, said the old jail "is about the only thing in town that is older than me."

Backers of the June ballot measure in Valley City, worried about the financing, got enough signatures to put the issue to a vote.

"We are voting whether or not we will be voting for a new jail ," Wagar said. He and others worry it will delay the project.

The center in southeastern North Dakota would rely on rental revenue from the counties for funding, Wagar said.