I would like to express my concern over the apathetic attitude taken by the mayor and City Council of Fayetteville regarding the county prison expansion proposed to take place within our downtown city corridor. Why are these voted officials with whom we entrust the welfare of our city not taking a public stand against the jail expansion location?

I am appalled at the lack of support we have received from our city officials. Interestingly, two months ago I received a phone call from Mayor [Mike] Wheat requesting my participation on a city jail planning committee. Since then I have heard nothing! I have left several messages with the mayor's voice mail and still have heard nothing.

Is everyone involved in politics in this town a “good ol' boy”? I am starting to understand exactly how crooked politics can be in a small town. I have had numerous conversations with other City Hall employees regarding the jail, safety issues, zoning, and the preservation of a historic home, and every time it is the same thing: “We cannot discuss these issues publicly... we are trying to work with the county.” Are our city officials afraid to ruffle a few feathers or do they truly want to ruin our city by allowing this monstrosity to be built downtown?

Oh, and I really enjoyed reading that Sheriff Randall Johnson took his issues to the grand jury to get their approval of the jail expansion. Do you think that maybe in this so-called democratic society the grand jury might allow me some equal time to explain to them why this jail location is not a good one? Would the grand jury perhaps listen to some children from East Fayette Elementary explain how they feel when they're locked down? In this adult world, does Randall Johnson or the grand jury have any idea the feeling a child experiences when they're locked in school because it's their unfortunate luck to have to go to a school two blocks away from the county jail?

And please, don't give me the line that this jail has to be built next to the courts! Then move the courts, too. There are several perfect pieces of property for sale north on Ga. Highway 85 that will hold a new jail and court complex. They can easily be annexed to the city of Fayetteville just as Jonesboro annexed their new facility to their city limits. Or does this pose a problem to the businesses that our fine city is trying to attract to our area? Yes, I suppose no business wants to be associated with a county jail next to it. Yet our county and city officials seem to think that our citizens want to live next door to a large prison facility!

The other interesting information I have gathered from an 11th Circuit federal judge is that the threats of a federal mandate to expand the jail which the sheriff and commissioners keep harping about would probably take anywhere from one to three years to get through the courts, beginning at the district court level. They rarely have heard of a mandate taking less time than that. So please stop threatening us with your “feds” statement.

One more issue I have is the cost of this proposed facility which affects all of us in Fayette County. Since when can there be taxation without representation? The commissioners are meeting to determine how to pay for this complex, and rumor has it that they would like to approve a bond which would in turn increase our taxes. Where is the public being allowed to have any input on this issue? And why not put the onus of increased taxation on the builders, new homeowners and businesses attracted to our community? The builders are just getting richer, and an increase in the population and businesses only add to our expanding jail population.

Denise Fair
Fayetteville

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