Why don't we get to vote on the jail project?

Dale Dueland

The minutes of the June 29, 2011, jail study committee meeting indicates that Andy Snyder of Smith Hayes Financial Services was invited to share financing options for the jail.

He told the committee that one option was a traditional jail and bond approval election coinciding with a May or November regular election date or schedule a special election date.

He also told them of another option that could utilize the provisions of NE State Statute 23-120 which permits the county board to make an annual levy of up to 5.2 cents per $100 of the taxable value of property to construct, renovate, etc., a courthouse, jail, or other county building. This would allow the commissioners to obligate the county to a jail and bond without an approval vote of the registered county voters.

The minutes of the July 20, 2011 jail study committee meeting record that Commissioner McNutt informed the group that the bond limit under the authority of NE Statute 23-120 would be $5,075,000 to finance construction of the jail. The record of minutes also states that the jail committee group would like a construction option that does not exceed that amount.

The minutes of this meeting also reveal further discussion that the project budget is too costly at this point, and talk centered on ideas for reducing the size and content of the facility to reduce the cost below the $5,075,000 threshold of the "no vote needed" authority of Nebraska Statute 23-120.

The group considered the Option 1A on Norris Avenue an ideal solution and it should be considered the law enforcement "Master Plan" for the future with deferred portions included or constructed as funding becomes available.

The minutes of the Dec. 12, 2011 jail committee meeting state that Prochaska and Associates presented the schematic design phase of the project with a construction cost estimate of $5,073,850. That is $1,150 under the $5,075.000 limit of the authority of NE Statute 23-120.

The minutes of the Dec. 19, 2011 regular county commissioner meeting records the unanimous approval by the commissioners of Prochaska & Associates schematic designs for the Law Enforcement Center with a construction cost estimate of $5,073,850.

And finally, on February 13, 3012, the minutes of the regular county commissioner meeting record the commissioner's unanimous approval to build the Law Enforcement Center on Norris Avenue, schedule an election in May 2012 to put the question of bond financing exceeding the state imposed 50 mill levy limit to a public vote, and retain D.A. Davidson as the bond underwriter.

April 2012 So what can we do to fix this?

Much of my frustration about the development of this jail project is about the expectations I have from government when it comes to managing the business of our community.

I have observed there are a couple ways to approach the management of a construction project for a public facility.

In one approach elected officials and community leaders work together to develop a right sized, well located, efficient proposal that brings the best economic value to the taxpayers considering the information available to base the decision. They then have the confidence to take the project to the public and sell the project through group meetings and personal persuasion, on the attributes and advantages of the project to earn voter approval. Perfect community harmony is never guaranteed under this approach, but it does offer an examination of the proposal in a public forum where many opportunities for questions are asked and answered. Whether the vote passes or fails, you have to conclude that the voters have weighed in, made a decision, and will live with it regardless whether hindsight proves it was right or wrong.

The other approach is where elected officials and community leaders would rather not be bothered by the opinions of others in the community as they know what is best for us. They will leverage what advantages available to them by law to move their agenda forward in an expedient manner, motivated by result rather than governmental processes. This approach runs the risk of creating deep personal divides in a community that have the potential to linger for years. This divisiveness can foster resentment and negative actions within the community that impede the progress that we need and could be proud of.

I have suggested to the commissioners many times over past year there are solutions that I think would garner more community support. I agree with them that a new facility is required but I have a different vision of where it should be and how it would function. My suggestions have largely been ignored as they obviously were only focused on their "vision" of what this facility should be.

I have offered the commissioners my vision of what our county jail might look like in the near future, and also well into the future. It would be on a "green site," in an area zoned for jails, with access to city utilities, expansion space, and near other correctional facilities in order to leverage partnerships for the delivery of correctional services, regardless of where the need might come from. The number of beds and prisoner population should be sized to maximize cost economies of scale with respect to inmate to jailer staff ratio efficiency benchmarks for the industry.

It is very important we protect the safety of the public, officers and prisoners, but not to the point of recklessly consuming all taxpayer financial resources available for this facility. This balancing of project priorities will truly give you the best value for correctional services and investment in law enforcement.

A successful proposal would utilize city, county, and state cooperation to operate efficiently, and it is absolutely way overdue that we as citizens should demand that. I am confident our community leaders are prepared to move forward on a new proposal if we can get the county commissioners to see their proposal has major financial and strategic problems, both short and long term, that can't be overcome.

This is a project that will affect McCook and Red Willow County for 50-100 years and it must be done in a way that brings diverse creative ideas and suggestions from the community into the fold. This has not happened as the commissioners planned their current proposal.

There is no question you could be a pessimist and conclude this won't happen. I prefer to be a bit optimistic and think we still have a chance, but it won't happen without convincing our county commissioners there is a better way. I have been working at this for a quite a while now and I could use a little help. If you don't think it is worth the effort, I still feel a little better as I hope you are now better informed about what you can expect from the commissioners jail proposal. I am not giving up; I believe there is way too much at stake to do that.