Taxpayers upset over prison issue
(This is the first in a two-part series)
Baseball is a nice game in which two opposing teams play against each other on a level playing field guided by a set of rules which each team understands and plays the game accordingly.
One of the simplest rules is “three strikes and you’re out.” It’s too bad this rule does not apply to the debate over how much Fayette County should spend on addressing its prison issue.
Commissioners Al Ambrosini and Vince Zapotosky are obsessed with the idea that we must build a brand new, 480 bed, 98,500 square foot state of the art prison at some location yet to be determined at a cost most currently approaching $35 million.
A group of concerned taxpayers have proposed a plan for solving our prison problem of less than $16 million, saving approximately $41 in debt service alone. The concerned taxpayers also feel (as do more than 3,700 eligible voters who signed a petition to get this issue on the May, 2014 ballot) that over the past eight months these two commissioners have struck out enough times that they should have lost their time at bat.
For example, some of the strikeouts we’re talking about are noted below:
1. At the four meetings held to inform citizens about Mr. Crabtree’s prison study and their plan to solve the county’s prison problem, Mr. Killinger announced that our prison was cited for 84 violations and if we did not start building this new prison immediately the state prison authority would close our prison.
Upon further analysis, Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink verified that these violations were because our prison had no procedure manual and had nothing to do with building a new prison. Strike one!
2. Mr. Ambrosini published a letter in the Herald-Standard accusing Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink and Michael Cavanagh of meeting on a specific date and composing a letter against his costly plan to build a new prison. It was confirmed by the Herald-Standard that Mr. Cavanagh’s letter was e-mailed and dated two days before Ambrosini accused them of meeting to conspire and write the letter. Strike two!
3. Mr. Crabtree’s study showed that the option to modernize our current jail and add vertically to it was the most costly option. These numbers were biased and inflated because he added $2.5 million for an unneeded parking garage, did his projections based on 480 beds and 98,500 square fee; and gave no consideration as to how many inmates might be reduced through the early release program.
It should be noted that Mr. Crabtree’s own study stated that the reason Fayette County had more inmates was because of DUI’s, exactly the inmates who should be considered for the early release program. Using these considerations and using Mr. Crabtree’s own figures, the concerned taxpayers group came up with a plan that will solve our prison problem for about $16 million and save about $41 in debt service alone. Strike three!
4. Based on Mr. Killinger’s recommendation, the commissioners voted to build the new prison next to the Fayette County Fairgrounds. Later, they found that this location would require $1.5 million to expand the sewerage system and would take up to a year to get all the approvals. What do they consider “due diligence.” Strike four!
5. But no problem, Mr. Killinger announced that his committee, “had been working 24/7” and had 22 other sites they had analyzed. Menallen Township was recommended as just as good as the fairgrounds site. Whoops! In their due diligence they forgot to check carefully with the Menallen Township supervisors, who for their own good reasons, did not want a jail in their backyard. Strike five!
6. Next, commissioners Ambrosini and Zapotosky attempted to sneak a 24-hour fine print notice by their constituents, calling for a meeting they hoped no on would attend so they could quickly and quietly approve the purchase of acreage off Braddock Road from the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council for $1.25 million. Foiled again. An overflow crowd showed up and in addition to questioning the price being paid, North Union Township supervisors and others living in the area raised many issues concerning sewerage, water, flooding, soil stability and geological questions. Why would these two commissioners want to sneak this approval and name a price to be paid before checking more carefully on the issues raised by those at the grassroots level? Strike six!
Terry Ryan is a resident of Adah.