PAYETTE COUNTY, Idaho — Payette County officials made their case for a new, $40-million jail bond at a packed town hall, citing failed inspections and costly repairs.
Click to see the discussion at the town hall meeting:
"Like anything, we see the writing on the wall," said Payette County Commissioner Ken Bishop.
The current 50-year-old jail has failed inspection three times.
"We have more inmates than we have room to be putting them in," said Andy Creech, Payette County sheriff.
"The infrastructure in the jail is starting to fail," Creech added.
Idaho News 6 was the only media outlet at the town hall, where a full house of community members asked questions. The main concern? If passed, where will it be placed?
"The location of the jail is not something that our county commissioners have made a decision on yet, and said this is where it's going," said Creech.
The bond would cost about $59per $100,000 of property value over 30 years.
Bishop says their goal is to get the bond passed while working with the community on location.
"We really came at it from a common sense standpoint of not only operating the best we can but also minimizing the cost and impact on our budget so that we are doing the best for the people we represent," said Bishop.
"Looking at a 230-bed jail with a full sheriff's office at $40 million, as opposed to the 125-bed jail that we would outgrow, I would estimate before we paid it off. For me, it's not a good use of money. I'm a taxpayer too," said Creech.
The current jail needs constant, expensive repairs.
"Every month we have something significant we are paying for to fix or repair. [For] some things, we are even having problems finding parts," said Bishop.
If the bond passes, the current jail would be demolished, and the sheriff's office space would go to the courthouse, making more room for growth.
"If the bond doesn't pass, we will keep doing what we are doing and keep engaging with the public to try to find out, where do we go from here?" said Creech.
Officials will be speaking on the issue at upcoming city hall meetings:
New Plymouth: October 6 at 6:00 p.m.
Payette: October 2, at 5:30 p.m.
Fruitland: October 27 at 7:00 p.m.
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