While I can appreciate Mr. Hamricks “opinion” regarding the Fayetteville jail, there are a number of things he should consider before addressing a community that he doesn't reside in. Please note, I'll stay away from the concerns he dismisses rather easily, such as community fears. I would, however, like to discuss the Clayton County Jail comparison.

Mr. Hamrick mentions that the value of his home hasn't decreased and may have increased in value. For him and his neighbors that is good news. He fails to mention, however, the jail in Clayton County is on the outskirts of town. I wonder how the community of Clayton County would have responded if the jail were placed in a corresponding location that the proposed judicial center was going in Fayetteville.

The second point I want to address is his definition of “enlarge.” According to the dictionary, “enlarge” means “to make larger in size.” If the proposed jail had a limit for the first pod of 192 inmates, most of us would say fine. The problem however is that the commissioners have “planned” for four pods that will bring the total number of beds to over 800, if you include the 80-some inmates it now holds. To many people expanding 1000 percent means essentially building a new jail.

Still not a problem if the location supports the best interest of the community. This sounds much like the approach that Clayton County and others take. They realized they needed it and put it on the outskirts of town.

The argument sounds familiar doesn't it? For those of us that used to live near a jail, you could “wrap” this package anyway you want, but the reality is a jail is a jail and we should accept the things that go along with it. Getting away from these things is why we moved to Fayetteville in the first place.

Lastly, his comments about “who knows when pods three and four would be built... five, 10 or 20 years,” probably has some merit. However, if Fayetteville continues our current growth rate and the jail is built “in anticipation” for the number of inmates they'll need, it should be a forgone conclusion we'll need to build the pods. When's the last time we read about a jail being 60 percent full?

Also, as Mr. Hamrick pointed out, there are two to three times the inmates, which is why we need to expand in the first place. Unfortunately, jails are like the field of dreams... if you build it, they will come. I would rather we acknowledge the fact that the pods will have to be built and address the location issue.

I could go on, but I'm hoping the meeting Thursday evening will help us all understand the logic behind this planned location.

Pete Benedetti
peterb@micromuse.com

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