To the editor:
I read with interest Marc Huber’s rambling paid advertisement in the Daily Reporter ("All Hancock County Taxpayers: Now is the Time to Voice How You Want Your Tax Dollars Spent," Nov. 17, Page A5), and I can’t understand his reluctance to put the new correctional facility at the county farm where there is flat land and plenty of room for expansion in the future. He mentioned that Noblesville has a downtown correctional facility that is community corrections. Our community corrections is downtown as well. Hamilton County’s jail is located well away from downtown because of the room they have to increase the size of their facility. They are currently expanding. If we build this new facility downtown and outgrow it in coming years, it would be necessary to condemn even more houses. Huber would have already displaced five homes with his current downtown plan. It will cost far less in the long run to use the farm.
It appears we can get enough jail space at the county farm for around $26 million — a lot less than the $35 to $55 million the commissioners were talking about downtown. At one point, Huber said it could be $70 million. By putting it at the farm, it will be paid for with income tax, not property tax. Fortunately, two commissioners seem understand this. There was simply no way the county council could come up with the type of funding that was being talked about for the downtown site. Marc should understand this from having served on the council.
The original site they were looking at turned out be a flood plain. Then they wanted to move it to the hill and tear down people’s residences.
This location would be land-locked, next to a semi-hazardous waste site and next to the Pennsy Trail with no room for parking, unless of course you wanted your car to glow in the dark.
Fortunately, the commissioners presented us with the option to put it at the farm. Maybe it wasn’t unanimous, but still we got a plan that is moving along at a good pace and that the council can afford to fund. The city of Greenfield is willing to provide utilities to the property line. All the county will have to do is run it to the new buildings.
As far as Huber’s comment on an ulterior motive and who has something to gain, let me point out that Huber is the one who took lots of campaign contributions — over $30,000, in fact — from various architects, engineers, jail building companies and others while the county council candidates took none. When I spoke to various Greenfield City Council and other Greenfield officials, their only comments were directed at what was good for the citizens of Greenfield and ultimately the county residents as well.
In addressing his comments about transporting prisoners to court, it may come as a surprise to him that the jailers just don’t send them out of the jail door and say, “Walk over there and come back when you’re done.” They send a jailer or two along with them. Being at the farm, the jailers would just get in a van and drive to the courthouse. That would be a plus in bad weather!
Bill Bolander
New Palestine
Bill Bolander is president of the Hancock County Council
County Council President
