Both the cost and the location of the proposed detention center is mind-boggling in my opinion. I don't believe a jail should ever be next to neighborhoods or schools....it appears that this jail site will be near both.

Where will they put the people charged with sex crimes? ...rape, sexual assault, child molestation, etc...?
It's the law that they have to be away from schools, bus stops etc...
It seems like building the jail where they are planning would violate the law.
I wonder...

We definitely need a new jail built. There is no argument from me about that. Because of overcrouding, not only do they house prisoners in other facilities (at extremely high expense) but from what I understand - they also release inmates sooner than they should.

Is there a, "Vote Yes for the Jail" website?
Before making a decision, it is imperative to read both sides of the issue.

The, "Vote No" website is:
www.movethejail.org

Cindy, I don't know of a vote yes for jail website yet. But I do know this. WE are spending too much on this jail. Other counties in GA have spent far less on jails, and as far as I know Bertab, this jail will house all kinds of inmates from DUIs to murder charges, etc..so I imagine sex offenders would fall in that somewhere. The sheriff has been answering questions at the public forums, I would urge folks to attend. We already spent between 8 or 9 million for the land on Veterans Memorial. The 75 million is what we will be voting on and this does not include separate sheriff offices as far as I know, which will be a separate question on the ballot for a yes or no and additional money besides the 75 million.. I hope people take a hard look on the actual spending now and understand too we have a percentage of illegals in the jails too. If we stop the procession of illegals, we may not need to build such a large jail at such an expense. You build it and they will come.

If we have a jail, we will need to ask questions as to how much it will cost to staff such a building, will it change our insurance liability for the county, will the school board and sheriff's office cooperate to protect children and staff at the schools should there be a jail break. These are some thoughts I have considered. On its face, it appears we need a jail, but if you look at the figures of what we are spending now to house them elsewhere versus us giving inmates state of the art....it does not add up.

I want to correct previous post, it appears we spent a bit over 7 million for the land, not between 8 or 9 million

The Forsyth Sheriff's website has been updated and includes the following information:

* Architectural Renderings of the Proposed Jail & Proposed Sheriff's Headquarters

* Existing Jail Costs for 2006, 2007, & Partial 2008 (Jan-Jul)

* Photos of Work Conditions in the Existing Sheriff's Office

Go to: www.forsythsheriff.org

(the jail link is on the upper right corner of the home page)

So, why have none of you who are concerned NOW been concerned for the past 30 years or so that the current jail has been located only 1/4 mile from where the new one will be located? And since the deputies who work in there now work very hard, and in frighteningly outdated conditions, to insure that our families are safe from jail breaks, why wouldn't they do so at a new facility? A facility that would, in fact, be MORE secure than the dilapidated, obsoletely designed mess we have now.

Currently, Forsyth's inmates are housed approximately 3 and 1/2 hours away. That "piddly" $2.5 million we, taxpayers, spent last year was simply for housing. Not transportation, not medical care, not manpower (deputies to guard the inmates as they're cavorted all over the state and to the hospital--if you want to talk about security risks!). Should the DOJ see the condition of the jail and determine that we need one it will be built to their specs and wherever they want it.

The search for property for the new jail was highly publicized--ask the folks on Old Federal Road. They paid attention, spoke up, and the county didn't purchase that property. The completed purchase of this property was reported on the front page of this very newspaper months ago.

Please educate yourselves with the facts. Talk to someone who works in the jail now, anybody who's been on grand jury in the past few years (they get a tour), or attend one of the public hearings of which Cindy has spoken.

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons--Dostoyevsky

The Public Forum Meeting Location Has Changed!

* 6PM
** Tues., Aug 26th

*** Forsyth County Administration Bldg
(in the atrium)
110 E. Main Street

I hope many people will be able to attend.

I have been watching all this on the Forsyth channel, about the jail and the county budget. I believe we have already spent nearly $1 million for drawings and blueprints. We have also spent 7 million on the land, and this jail has not been approved. Good planning?

I tried to do some research on the property value issue, but the prominent item that I saw, was that there has not been a accurate study done. Every study has flaws.

The next item I started to look for was the cost of construction. I did searches of what it cost for a 500 bed prision, and the majority of hits I got were in the $22 million price range. There was one at $56 million and one at $117 million. But most were in the 20's. And I checked dates of the hits and they were 2007 and 2008. So putting $75 million on the table might be a bit rich. I also noticed that this site has a possible expansion plan for up to 1600 beds. That is 3 times the capacity proposed to the public at this time. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/14/08)(By NANCY BADERTSCHER)

The next thing I noted was that most prisions with extra capacity set aside beds for out of towners. This is where you generate revenue by taking on other prisioners that can not be housed elswhere. What level is this prision? What kind of offenders can it house?

Prision siting criteria stressed that opposition would be heavy if located near housing areas, and recomended that it be located as if it were a landfill or sewer treatment facility. I do not think that part of the sighting guide book was followed.

Has an Environmental Impact Analysis been done? Have not heard about that.

I am a retired military person, so I know what the folks have to put up with dealiing with the old building and facilities. But this is not the time nor the place to be building a prision, in my humble opinion. The economy is down, property taxes are up. Just look at the paper every week and count all the pages of forclosure listings. The coffers are empty.

In better times this may have received my backing, but not at this time. Not if it has to come out of my humble military retirement check. How about allowing a private firm come in and take the project over. I hear it costs taxpayers much less? Have them move it though. 1600 inmates right next to a residential area was not the smartest idea I have heard of.

Dale

Initially I thought we needed this jail, but how much is it really going to cost? There just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions regarding the jail siting decision making process and the cost.

These are some of the questions I have thought of--

How much did we already spend on the blueprints and consulting?

How much did other counties spend on their jails. I have read reports that Hall County built a larger jail for much much less than our Forsyth County Proposal.

What is the average cost yearly to an average homeowner of a $250,000 to $300,000 home. I am quite sure this will not be a one-time bill on the homeowners, but a yearly bill (which will likely go up when and if the jail is expanded).

What is the cost per square foot?

What is the operational costs and staffing costs?

HAs the Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Corps of Engineers been notified if this is a wetlands area?

What level of prison is this, meaning exactly what kind of inmates will be housed?

What is the impact on the county's insurance and/or liability, if there is any.

During site selection, Was there a site selection committee. I don't live in Wyngate, but you would think the county commission and the Sheriff's office would have involved that neighborhood in the decision making process, so I really feel for them.

I have also pulled up information on Site Selection on line.
Here it is, about a 28 page document:
http://www.nicic.org/pubs/1996/012888.pd...

Please Consider Voting No on the Jail

Because it is cheaper to house inmates out of county.

Because the cost of the operations of the jail is an unknown.

Because our property taxes will again go up.

You need to look at the tax %, as I have looked at a sample of tax bills, and the main problem is that the county over valuates the land, as several locations I have seen a price per acre at almost $400,000, and that is for unimproved land. That is utterly ridiculous and should be considered price gouging. compare the tax bill for the over-valued property here in Forsyth County, with that for a property in the North, which is maybe 1/3 to 1/4 the value and up north they pay a far greater percentage in property tax.

Next, housing our prisoners in other facilities could cost much more, if other facilities realize that the people in Forsyth County does not want to build a jail and house its own prisoners. If I were a County Commissioner in another County and realized that Forsyth County Didn't want to house its prisoners, I would raise the price that would be charged to more than make it prohibitive for Forsyth County to export its prisoners!

But anyways, I believe that not building and maintaining a Jail is a non-issue, as every County is required to do so by Charter requirements.

True, it 'could cost much more', but at the present time it does not. We do already have a jail though.