County proposal outlined for new jail, E-9ll

The Nevada City Council heard a report Tuesday night from Vernon County Presiding Commissioner Charles Johnson outlining the proposed new county jail and E-911 system. Johnson told the council that the county had placed a one-half cent law enforcement sales tax on the August 5 ballot to pay for building a new facility. After 15 years, the sales tax would be reduced to 3/8 percent. In a press release provided after the meeting, Johnson clarified that the $6.6 million plan includes purchasing the real estate, preparing the site, construction of the building, extended service radio towers and signal repeaters at the center, northeast and southwest areas of the county. A mapping system and signs marking county roads is also proposed. After evaluating 12 different sites, Johnson told the city council that the county commission had decided to locate the jail on 6.5 acres on the northwest corner of Austin and Centennial boulevards, across from Casa Azteca. "This site has a lot of green space and space for additional construction in the future," Johnson said. In a press release Johnson provided after the meeting, he said the county's plan had evolved through "numerous public meetings, public and private comments on the 12 sites considered, input from the county's law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners and elected officials, as well as 'first responders' provideing emergency services throughout Vernon County." The proposed 35,000-square-foot facility would have room for 96 prisoners and would have space for use by Nevada Police department, Vernon County Sheriff's Office, an E-911 dispatch center, a conference room and a small courtroom for arraignments and pre-trial hearings, he told the council. According to the release, the courtroom could also be used for the city's municipal court. Forty-five of the beds would be for local use and the rest would be rented to other law enforcement agencies to help pay for the facility. Johnson said that the county commission needed to know two things from the city soon: First, if the county will include space in the facility for the city police, does the city want to operate under the same roof as the sheriff's office? Second, is the city willing to provide all of the dispatching in exchange for having space for prisoners and the police?