The four parcels are appraised at a combined total of $228,530, according to the county auditor’s site. Clark County Sheriff Chris Clark said that amount is an estimate and not an official appraisal.
The price the county commissioners authorized resulted from negotiations with the current owner of the property after several meetings with the owner, according to Clark.
The owner used it as farm ground, but the price the county agreed to is a development price, he said.
“We felt it was a very fair price for those parcels,” Clark said. “Both parties are happy with this deal, and taxpayers are getting a very cost-effective purchase here.”
Since it was approved to purchase the contract for this property, officials have 365 days for “due diligent efforts,” which include conducting course sampling, conducting environmental studies and checking if there are endangered species or hazardous materials in order to make sure the site is suitable, according to Clark.
Resolving jail issues
Clark said they looked at several different locations, which weren’t as cost effective, and they took several different things into consideration, starting off with looking at the problems at the current facility.
The location needed to be at least about 10-20 acres and between 135,000- to 140,000-square feet, since the building would be one level and would have spaces for inmate pods, training facilities for deputies and space for administrative offices.
“We want to make sure that we got us in a place where we had opportunity for expansion. This property will give us opportunity for the next generation to expand on this current facility and not have to construct a new one, which is the situation we’re in right now,” Clark said.
The county didn’t want to landlock itself on a different property with less space in case the county needed to expand the jail again decades down the line, Clark said.
Some problems at the current facility are things they deal with on a constant basis.
At its current location, the public will occasionally come right up to the outside of the jail. The jail has had people communicating to inmates, being inappropriate and getting contraband inside, Clark said.
“By putting it in a location that’s not connected directly to a residential area, we can offset it from the property quite a distance so we can have a security perimeter. If people come up, we’ll see it. They’re not going to be able to access the building the way that they do now,” he said.
Highway access for quicker response times
The final thing they looked at, Clark said, is the location itself because they wanted to be close to I-70.
“We’re responsible for the entire county. Putting us dead in the center of the city increases our response time, especially to the areas of New Carlisle, Park Layne and North Hampton area,” he said. “We want to try to get some place where you get to the interstate and be east, west, where we need to be fairly quickly, and this accomplishes that as well.”
Commissioner Charles Patterson said their teams looked at “many, many, many” properties that fit the price, and rejected multiple properties, so it wasn’t something “they took lightly.”
“I know we’ve been working on it for years ... We’ve spent every week dealing with this trying to make sure that this is the best thing for Springfield-Clark County for the next 50 years,” he said. “We want to make sure that this is first class, that this actually raises the property value as opposed to lowering property values because people will be incarcerated in there.”
Clark said they are committed to being good neighbors, building a facility that fits in with the community, being a positive impact and promoting good growth within the city.
How a new jail might be funded
To help cover the cost of a new facility, a 20-year, 0.5% sales tax levy increase will be on the November ballot to pay for the construction and operation of a new detention facility.
County commissioners held two public hearings to get feedback from residents on if they should put the levy on the ballot, in which many residents expressed they should so they have input in the matter.
Clark County’s current sales tax is 7.25%, which includes the state sales tax of 5.75% and the county sales tax of 1.5%. This ballot measure would increase the sales tax to 7.75%.
Costs for a new facility are estimated at $100 million. If the levy passes, county officials think they can at least get $15 million from the state to help, along with the $2 million they have in reserves. The 0.5% sales tax increase will give the county $10 million a year.
Project costs include a $77 million construction cost, $16.5 million for professional services (architects, project management, etc.), a $4.1 million contingency and $2.3 million for site acquisition and preparation.
If the levy doesn’t pass, the county will not be meeting jail standards. The county could try bringing the levy before voters again in the spring, but the county may have to cut services.
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