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By Lynn Hotaling
At the urging of Commissioner Brian McMahan, county leaders Tuesday
(Oct. 14) unanimously agreed to send a letter to Sheriff Jimmy
Ashe asking him to occupy the county's new jail within the next
week.
During Tuesday's meeting of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners,
Chairman Stacy Buchanan reported that Sheriff Ashe said he would
begin moving into the recently completed facility on Monday, Nov.
3.
Tuesday's discussion centered around a date for relocating prisoners
to the new jail. Sheriff Ashe and his department moved into their
offices, which are in the new facility adjacent to the detention
center, several months ago.
McMahan pointed out that the new jail had received a Certificate
of Occupancy Sept. 23 and said he didn't see any reasons not to
move prisoners to the completed facility this week.
In response to a question from Commissioner Roberta Crawford,
county Manager Ken Westmoreland said the current cost to house
prisoners in other locations (due to Jackson County's current
inadequate jail) is about $500 per day.
"I'd like to see our sheriff go ahead and move our prisoners
to the safest environment," Crawford said.
Westmoreland expressed the opinion that the remaining considerations
were minor and could be remedied in a few days.
McMahan then put his request in the form of a motion asking Buchanan
to draft a letter to the sheriff informing him that it's the "desire
of the board to see him move the prisoners to the new jail by
Tuesday of next week."
McMahan's motion asks that the sheriff attend next week's board
meeting if an Oct. 21 move-in date is "impossible or unreasonable."
When contacted Wednesday morning, Sheriff Ashe issued the following
statement:
"I've been anticipating this move since I've taken office.
I think it's a shame that the taxpayers' dollars have been wasted
for housing inmates out of county. The detention center and its
completion has taken more than one year past the expected occupancy
date.
"There has been no pressure placed on the architects or contractors
in the last six months whatsoever to expedite the completion of
the facility.
"At the present time there are still issues in hand that
need to be addressed in this new facility - first, with a recent
rain leak in one of the pods as well as with a heating and air
conditioning unit that has shut down.
"I feel that I have been extremely patient due to the circumstances
that have taken place over the past six months, including the
completion of the upstairs for the county board of commissioners'
offices and the inconvenience it caused me of drilling holes through
the ceiling of my offices, not to mention construction workers
in and out of secured areas, which I had to accommodate.
"I'm ready to move and have been ready to move. My intentions
are clear and that's to serve and protect the citizens of this
county without any undue waste of county taxpayers' dollars."
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