To the Editor:

Question: But you would be locating a jail right in the middle of town. What about the people living in the neighborhood?

Mr. Grafís answer was that the present jail building has been in the middle of town for 132 years. I would be willing to bet that 132 years ago there were no homes around the jail. As the town continued to grow some homes were built around the jail. In fact, the upper level of the jail was living quarters for the sheriff and his family. The people made it their choice to build around the jail. This is far different now, when the county commissioners are proposing to plop a 28,000 plus square foot structure in a residential neighborhood.

The only other question deserving of an answer is when Mr. Meyer told the students that the CJC building would be built in such a manner that additional staff would not be required. Now, Mr. Meyer, think about it. As soon as a woman inmate is held there for any length of time there will have to be women jailers on duty 24 hours a day. Thatís three more staff right there. Is the new CJC going to be built so that it will be self-cleaning? I donít think so. In fact I will bet that, if this building is built, the county will hire 6-12 more people to staff it.

I suppose a lot of people, including my wife, wonder why I want to get so involved in this project. Iíll tell you what and how I feel about this and it has nothing to do with being good friends with the Klug family.

I like Caledonia. When I retired as Steele County City Assessor I came back to Caledonia. I donít want to see the city change to the point where we will have 80+ inmates housed in a building 1/2 block from a grade school. Huber inmates will be leaving for work about the same time the buses are coming to school. Isnít that a concern? And what about drug traffic? A National Geographic documentary stated that for every 5 inmates in a jail the drug traffic will increase 10%.

I donít like the fact that five County Commissioners and their representatives can change our way of life without giving any of us a chance to have a say in the matter. This is not about just the cost of the building. It doesnít belong in the middle of the city, period. Do we need a new jail? Most people agree we do. Can we afford what the county commissioners would like to force on us? Not until they come clean and give us more facts and figures than they have so far.

The next step will be for the County Commissioners to appear before the City Council for some variances. This will be an open, public meeting. If you have any concerns about the project get involved now before itís too late.

Joe Lee
Caledonia, Minn.