New Jail Will Front on King Road
By Stacey Creasy
PLYMOUTH � Marshall County Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to construct a new jail on county-owned property instead of purchasing property from Jack Oliver or accepting seven acres of land from the Van Vactor family.
The new jail will be located on King Road next to the county highway department.
The three commissioners � Kevin Overmyer, Cliff Allen and John Zentz � all cited possible needs in the future as the key reason for going with the county farm as the site.
There were three locations for final consideration: The county farm east of Plymouth; the former Oliver Ford dealership on West Jefferson Street; and seven acres of land from the Van Vactor family west of the city.
The decision was not an easy one for the commissioners. They agreed there are pros and cons for each site.
Zentz was the first to offer up the reasons behind his decision.
�You�ve got to look into the future, look at expansion,� Zentz said. �What we�ll have. Where it will be.�
In addition to the jail, Zentz said the county may one day decide to build its own juvenile center.
�We are spending a half-million dollars a year on juvenile detention,� Zentz added. �It may be cost efficient to build our own juvenile detention center someday. There will be room out there for that.�
Overmyer echoed Zentz�s sentiments.
�I have changed my mind on all three sites over and over and over,� Overmyer said.
�But when you look at the present and the future I think the best site is on King Road next to the highway department.�
Overmyer said it would not be fair to the city to take commercial land off the tax rolls. He also did not want to buy the homes east of the Oliver site for future expansion.
�I do not want to take away homes for a county jail. That would not do the city justice,� he explained. �Those three homes pay $18,600 a year in taxes. That may not sound like much but over 20 years that�s $372,000 in city taxes.�
Overmyer said he knows the city was lobbying for the Oliver property, but he said the needs of the people in the county outweigh one government entity.
Allen said, �You have three good commissioners who are trying to do what�s best for the county. We do not want to build a new jail. We are forced to build a new jail. Our society stinks. We have so much crime. If we could be nice to each other, go to church, maybe we would not need new jails.�
Allen said the county is not going to spend any more money than it has to, to construct a new jail.
�We respect your opinion on this, please respect ours,� Allen added. �Do not hate us for trying to do what�s best for the county.�
The decision was followed by comments from 16 of the approximate 50 people who attended the session.
Five residents spoke in favor of the county farm while five said they wanted the new jail at the Oliver site.
Several members of the Marshall County Tax Awareness Committee urged the commissioners to wait and put the issue on a ballot.
�Put this before the people who are going to have to pay for it,� said John Stone.
TAC member Mike Bernero said it is possible to remonstrate against the project because money from the general fund has been used, but did not say if TAC plans to seek action. TAC is tied up in a legal struggle with the Plymouth School Corpor-ation over that stalled expansion project.
The county plans to pay for the jail by increasing the County Adjusted Gross Income Tax by one-fourth of a percent. There is some debate whether or not a remonstrance can be filed against a CAGIT funded project.
Overmyer said Monday�s decision was on the location of the new jail.
The commissioners have not agreed on final plans for the detention facility/work release center.
At least two state legislators think the move is a good one.
Representative Bill Friend, whose district includes Bremen and Bourbon, said, �This is an important issue for the Marshall County elected officials.� They have done extensive research on finding a proper location, and they certainly have the best interests of the citizens at heart.� �Obviously, they feel that this location will serve the community in the most optimum manner � all other criteria considered."�
Representative Steve Heim of Culver, whose district includes Plymouth said, �I commend the Marshall County Commissioners for their hard work and thorough research regarding the site for the new jail.�
�I know they have invested a lot of time and effort in this project and that it was a tough decision for them to make.�
(Pilot News Staff Writer Mike Siroky contributed to this report.
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