Dave Hamrick, shame on you!

I read [his column] regarding the Fayette County Jail and his view that the local residents seemed to be upset mainly about safety and property values, instead of the pedestrian-friendly vision our city officials have for downtown Fayetteville. You were right about one thing, Dave: Living in Clayton County does put you at having a lot less at stake than I do with regard to the Fayette County Jail.

Your statement about your lack of scientific data regarding one's chances of being harmed by an escaped prisoner was an interesting point. Do we really need scientific data to show how often or not someone is harmed by an escaped criminal? Do we need one altercation to take place to make us believers that something bad can happen if a large correctional facility is located two blocks from an elementary school. If you were a prisoner trying to escape from a jail and were afraid of being caught or possibly apprehended at gunpoint, what better place to hole yourself up than at a local elementary school with 600 children? After all, what sheriff would shoot at you surrounded by all those children? Do you need scientific data to prove to you that this couldn't be a scenario of a prisoner escape in the middle of a densely populated community?

And Dave, I'm glad you don't think your property value has been affected by your living near a jail. By the way, exactly how far away did you say lived from the Clayton County Jail? You neglected to mention this in your article. When I pass the jail on McDonough Road, I notice the county dump, trailer housing and gas station/convenience stores surrounding it. I didn't notice any subdivisions with homes valued from $60,000 to $500,000 within close proximity.

For your information and that of the commissioners, I am primarily concerned about safety, decrease in property values, and the projected cost of the facility but there are other concerns about the proposed Fayette County jail expansion:

1. Why have alternative sites for the jail not been considered?

2. Has an impact study been done for the surrounding neighborhoods?

3. What are the specific concerns about the possibility of a federal mandate that might force Fayette County to build a jail expansion that isn't ideal? We would like to know what the hurry is and be shown documentation where Fayette County has been investigated by the feds to indicate an urgency in moving forward without concern for the community's input.

4. Why does the county jail need to be part of a “county campus”? What is the justification for this “vision.” Why does the Board of Commissioners feel that such a “campus” would be embraced as a prized cornerstone of our community as a cost to taxpayers?

5. What added cost is projected for the jail to make it aesthetically compatible with the proposed “county campus” and its central location in the heart of Fayetteville? What jail construction costs could be saved if this concern for aesthetic compatibility was not a consideration?

6. What was the basis for sizing the jail expansion site for four pods? What is the likelihood that the four pods will not meet future needs? What back-up plans exist if the proposed expansion proves to be inadequate and an additional expansion beyond 800 beds is required?

7. Since this complex will be land-locked for additional expansion, is there a possibility of a two-site complex in Fayetteville's future?

8. Of the $70 million price tag, is this earmarked strictly for the jail construction or for the entire judicial complex: jail, parking areas, courts, and renovations to the existing facility? What is the anticipated final cost going to be?

9. What justification do the commissioners have to expand the county complex part of this project?

10. How will the commissioners resolve an already horrendous traffic situation leading into and out of Fayetteville by adding this large complex with a projected 1,400 parking spaces to our downtown corridor?

11. Since annexation to the city's boundaries seems to easily achieved where deemed necessary (i.e., Fayette Community Hospital), what is the difficulty in locating another site for the jail/judicial complex which is not landlocked, accessible by main roads, does not border subdivisions or schools, and basically would be better suited to house prisoners than downtown Fayetteville?

12. Why was the engineering firm, Mallet and Associates, given this job without consideration for other companies to bid on it? How many jail complexes have Mallet and Associates been consulted on, designed, and constructed?

I look forward to the commissioners' answers to my questions at their meeting, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. I encourage the commissioners to allow more than one hour to entertain questions from the citizens. Commissioner Bost stated that he would stay all night to listen to public comment, but it would be in the commission's best interest to encourage two-way discussion about these issues rather than one-way public discussion comments. I hope too, that the commissioners' intentions are genuine in allowing this public hearing and they are not simply doing it to pacify the community without truly listening to our concerns.

Denise Fair

Fayetteville

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