When Congress approved trillions last year in COVID-19 relief, having the taxpayers finance a new county jail in Harrison County likely wasn’t on the list.

But here we are.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine last week awarded $9.1 million in COVID-19 relief to Harrison County for the new jail.

The current jail was built in 1925.

Are we glad that Harrison County, which has been funneling millions to Columbus over the past few years through natural gas revenues, is finally getting some of that back for a new jail?

Of course.

It’s obvious from DeWine’s statements that the 96-year-old jail is woefully inadequate for today’s needs. For one thing, it can only house up to eight inmates at one time. Unfortunately, the days of a county having a jail roster that doesn’t number in at least the double digits are long gone.

In 2019, Harrison County spent $170,000 to house its additional inmates in other counties around the state. The need for a new facility is clear.

But using COVID-19 relief funds to build it? That seems illogical and a waste of those dollars.

Granted, the pandemic did present challenges for jails and prisons. In its early months, the virus caused severe outbreaks among inmates and staff, largely because of the close quarters they shared. But COVID-19 relief funds could have been used in other ways to help alleviate overcrowding and infection. There must be solutions other than building an entirely new facility.

Perhaps what DeWine should have done in announcing the funding is tell the citizens of Harrison County that he was there so state government could pay them back for all the money that’s been taken out of their community to fund the rest of Ohio. That would have been a more appropriate way to finance the new jail. A larger share of oil and gas severance taxes should be coming back to the area.

As it stands now, the jail will be one more reminder of government spending programs gone astray.