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County can’t afford Ambrosini

By Jerrie T. Mazza 3 min read

Can anyone tell me where Fayette County’s money tree might be located?

it seems to me that there must be a tree, otherwise why would our two county commissioners still be planning on going ahead with their plans to construct the new prison in spite of the cost to county taxpayers.

Since the geological report became public, we have learned that this property is not suitable for a building site. There are concerns if the land will be stable even if all the DDC preparation is done. Remember the former Wal-Mart site in South Union Township.

In order to build the first thing that must be done is the contaminated soil must be removed and properly disposed. Then, the proper fill needs to be purchased and trucked onto the site.

According to the report, the soil may be improved by DDC (drop dynamic compaction), a drop weight of 15-20 tons  and a drop height of 40 feet is necessary.  The number of drops per location will be from 5-10 and the spacing of the drop locations is 20-30 feet on a grid pattern. How much will this cost?

Combine all the preparations of the land with the fact that a sewage plant addition to the Dunbar Township Sewage Authority must be built by the county. Not only will the county build it, but they will also be billed for the use of the service. What will the price tag be on this part of the project.

As everyone knows, Commissioner Al Ambrosini has had the report since the end of April and not only kept it from the public but also from the other two county commissioners. After seeing the report, it is no wonder he kept it to himself.

It is obvious that this site should be abandoned as a prison site. Who will be responsible for some time down the line when the land shifts and inmates and guards are hurt or killed? Can we afford to take that chance?

Taking into consideration all the negative reports concerning this building site plus the unknown costs, should the county even be thinking about using this site? Remember the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council purchased this property from the county for $100 and now they are selling it back to the county for $1.25 million. At one point in time, they could not even give it away.

Secrets from the public! As with everything else with the prison, is the bidding process being done at the airport in order to keep information away from the public?

The next commissioner meeting will be on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. in the Public Safety Building. You need to be there. We all need to be there to let Mr. Ambrosini know that his plan to build a new prison and the way he has gone about it does not sit well with the people. It’s time for Mr. Ambrosini to be removed as chairman.

Jerrie T. Mazza is a resident of Vanderbilt.

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