Jail voting under way

When Bullard-area residents entered the Smith County jail meeting on Thursday, they were greeted with an information brochure, a form for writing comments or questions and a Post-It note to vote on their favorite rendering.

County Judge Joel Baker opened the meeting by introducing the architects for the proposed Smith County project that - if approved by voters - would give the county new office buildings, a jail and an elaborate plan that - Baker said - would aid in the continued revitalization of downtown.

About 30 people attended the meeting, but no public comment was allowed.

Public comment was allowed at a newly added meeting held Monday in Tyler.

"This opens up the dialogue so voters will be heard by their local officials," said Precinct 1 Commissioner JoAnn Fleming. "Questions will be asked and answered."

After a Power Point presentation made by F Jeff Bradley of HDR Architecture in Bullard, Baker adjourned the meeting so commissioners could answer questions one on one.

Bradley took the audience through the phases planned out to complete the Smith County Justice Complex, which, at this time, would include a jail tower, a low-risk facility and a law enforcement building.

During Bradley's description of the proposed 1,104-bed jail, he explained the cost of operating this facility.

With a larger jail, he said, the county would be able to house its own inmates and take on those of other counties. She estimated a net profit of $250,000 per year.

Bradley said there is urgency to the issue.

"Not only is the county paying out an average of $41 per day for each inmate housed in other counties, but the cost of construction rises $8 to $12 million for each year the county waits to build," she said.

But Fleming maintains the project - which ballooned to the current now-$125 million project isn't necessarily sound.

She was the lone vote against the final proposal.

"This is the people's business," Fleming said. "The least important people in the equation are the elected officials, yet they are the only ones who seem to have a voice.

"We need to take the time to hear what they have to say and answer their questions publicly."

Fleming is also concerned about the many incarnations of the plan.

"The project has changed from week to week - changing the parking deck, etc. Instead of lowering cost of project, now we have courtrooms adding to project," she said. "That's a departure from the original mission."

Fleming said the overall jail plan is deviating further and further from the master plan devised by consultants Carter Goble Lee Inc.

"The master plan clearly emphasizes the value of a consolidated, integrated criminal justice system," she said. "It is most efficient to have courts together with their support services - district clerk, county clerk, district attorney, sheriff's office - rather than separated.

"This is a conservative community and by the time officials hang a price tag on a project and call a bond election, the community wants to know exactly what they are being asked to pay for," Fleming said.

Voting on the proposed jail bond package is set for Nov. 6 with early voting already under way.