By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
Thereís an old saying, "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." On Wednesday, Sept. 26 the Caledonia City Council voted to deny the zoning ordinances needed for the criminal justice center (CJC) Houston County has proposed to be located adjacent to the court house. The county can appeal the city councilís decisions, and/or purchase additional property in the downtown sector to get around the parking issues. But it appears is if itís time to make lemonade.

The countyís plan for the downtown location was a noble cause. Everyone in the county agrees the existing county jail, which was completed 10 years after the assassination of President Lincoln, needs to be replaced. By locating a new county jail in downtown Caledonia, the county board felt they could save taxpayer money. The county board has worked diligently for years trying to come up with a plan that would be economical, yet large enough so that inflated dollars wouldnít have to be spent a decade from now when future needs might exceed a scaled down CJC version.

A vocal group of Caledonia residents did not want to have the 82,000 square foot CJC located in their residential neighborhood. They let their feelings be known, and the city council took notice.

The Houston County Board is not a spend-happy lot. In fact, in the 30 years that I have covered county government in six different counties, your commissioners are by far the most fiscally conservative. All but one of the counties I worked in were in rural settings. Houston County is the only one I have seen that has its commissioners meeting in a dark, dingy basement. Houston County is the only one where the county auditor doesnít even have his own office, but must discuss county business in an open office with secretaries and John Q. Public within earshot. Houston County is the only county I have covered where the Public Health Nursing Department is pigeon-holed into small rooms in the basement of the courthouse and patientsí confidentiality is a real issue.

Letís face facts- Houston County government needs more space. And the 22.5 acres the county is in the process of purchasing on the west edge of Caledonia is the perfect location. Thereís plenty of room for both the County Highway Department and the CJC. County Highway Engineer Marcus Evans said his department needs 20 acres for growth. Currently the highway department is situated on less than seven acres. The 20 acres Evans feels is required would be three times what they currently have. There is plenty of room for growth.

County Board Chairman Ann Thompson said the remaining 2.5 acres would not be enough for the CJC. I did some checking and learned the entire area the county is working with in downtown Caledonia is 3.3 acres. That includes the current court house, current county jail, garage, the land the proposed CJC was to be situated on and about 300 parking stalls.

Thereís plenty of room for both the highway department and the CJC on the 22.5 acre tract, and what a wonderful location!

If both facilities were located at that site, sentence to serve persons could help work on the countyís vehicles, washing the salt off the snow plows, mud and dust off the Sheriff Departmentís vehicles, changing the oil, and other routine maintenance, which would be another taxpayersí savings. The area could be developed at the same time, again a taxpayersí savings. The parking lots for the two facilities could be shared.

Caledonia Mayor Mike Morey said the city wants to keep the CJC in town, just not downtown. He also said he feels the county wouldnít have any problems receiving the necessary zoning changes to locate both the highway department and CJC on the west edge of town. According to city staff, the property in question has more than adequate sewer and water connections, and even three-phase electrical service.

The plans the county has developed for the CJC are state of the art, would require the least number of personnel to staff the facility, and would alleviate numerous safety and crowding issues that must be addressed daily with the 137-year old jail currently being used.

By building the CJC, which would include a secured courtroom, a second smaller courtroom, and office space for court services and the County Attorney Department, room in the current court house would be freed up, providing additional space Houston County staff so desperately needs. And by going ahead with the CJC, additional space in the current jail could also be utilized for offices, at least on the ground floor.

Houston County has a county board that is trying to give its taxpayers the biggest bang for its buck. Itís time to get behind the current board, support their plans to build a new headquarters for the highway department, and also to encourage that site for the CJC as well.

Itís time to move on and make lemonade from lemons.

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Caledonia Argus
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