Good news, I think: The county jail you had planned to pay $100 million for will now cost you just $65 million. It's not clear to me where 1/3 of the cost disappeared to, but no matter; I don't trust this new number any more than I've trusted any of the figures tossed around by the County Board since this whole thing started.
I've been pretty negative about this jail, so let me emphasize the one thing I do agree with. I like that the jail is being built to plan for the county's population 25 years from now. It's always good to plan ahead of course, but that's not the main reason I think it's a good idea. It's a good idea because need estimates seem to almost always come out too conservative. Consider new school construction, where portables pop up the day after a new school opens. Furthermore, legislators are finding more and more reasons to put people in jail for longer. Unless the Drug War ends in the next decade or so, we're just going to need more and more beds in our jails and prison.
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I wonder if this is a sign of the times. Gas prices go up a buck, and then fall back 50 cents…people feel relieved. The jail could have cost $100 million, but we now have a steal-of-a-deal at $65 million.
I fully agree with your “I don’t trust this new number…” statement.
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