Voters reject funding for new Washington County Jail
By Tim Hudson E-E County Reporter
Voters resoundingly voiced disapproval with the proposed Washington County Jail, voting down both proposals on the project Tuesday and leaving officials scrambling to come up with their next move.
“We’ve got some tough decisions we have to make, and we want to get out as quick as we can on another ballot,” Washington County District 3 Commissioner Mike Dunlap told the Examiner-Enterprise this morning.
Voters shot down both jail ballot propositions — one for an ad valorem tax increase and another that would have resulted in a half-penny sales tax increase — effectively saying “No” to a proposed $18 million public safety facility.
The proposition for the ad valorem sales tax increase — which required 60 percent approval to pass — drew just 50.99 percent of the vote in support, while 49.01 percent of voters said “No.”
Proposition 2, seeking the sales tax increase, got just 49.34 percent approval, while 50.66 percent voted against the proposition.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Dunlap said. “We pulled 50 percent, though. We almost got there.”
He added that Monday morning’s commissioners’ meeting “will be interesting.”
“We will discuss options of where we are headed with the project. We’ll likely have the sheriff and the officials that are involved there,” he said.
Dunlap said that at some point there will be an “analysis of the election.”
He also noted that he had not heard from State Jail Inspector Don Garrison regarding the outcome of the vote.
At a League of Women Voters forum on Oct. 14, Garrison made it abundantly clear what could be facing the county if the county jail fails to comply with state regulations.
“Things could happen a whole lot more severe to your county, and when they do, you folks as citizens will be paying for it,” he said at the forum.
Garrison said there are two options that the health department has concerning the jail — one of them is that an ACO, or an administrative compliance order, has already been used on Washington County requiring the jail to put inmates in other counties to get down to the required capacity.
“It’s costing your county every day to put those inmates somewhere else, so those counties can have your money,” Garrison said.
He said communities typically get serious about building a jail once the attorney general gets involved.“
We could ask the attorney general to close this facility completely,” Garrison said at the forum.
“I don’t know if we will hear from Mr. Garrison this week or not,” Dunlap said today. “I would not be surprised, though.”
The road to Tuesday’s defeat had been tumultuous, and wrought with controversy and conflict. Discussions of the new county jail began in earnest when commissioners first heard a presentation on the potential project at a May 16, 2005 board meeting.
The project later hit a major public relations stumbling block when questions of an open meetings act violation surfaced as a result of a July 13, 2006 closed committee meeting attended by numerous city and county officials.
The total price tag for the jail designed by consulting firm BKL Inc., was originally announced in June at $21,529,000 with annual maintenance costs estimated at $3,148,250 per year — numbers that had citizens and officials shaking their heads.
“I know the price tag has floored the whole community,” Dunlap said at the time. “No one, including myself, wants to spend $20 million on a jail.”
The price tag was later trimmed to the current $18 million number.
The project then took another hit on May 27, when the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission voted 4-3 to deny a request to rezone the land selected for the jail and the site itself, a 5.4-acre tract bordered by Oak Avenue on the west, Adams Boulevard on the north and the railroad tracks on the east and south commonly known as the “railroad spur.”
In August, the Washington County Correctional Facility Trust appealed the MAPC’s decision to the Bartlesville City Council, which considered the issue and initially voted 3-2 to deny the appeal. Due to a petition signed by residents within 300 feet of the site, a four-fifths majority was required to pass the measure.
However, the council reversed its decision a week later and voted 4-1 to approve the request.
The latest and still unanswered problem for the project has been a civil lawsuit filed against the City of Bartlesville and the Bartlesville City Council by a group of citizens who live in close proximity to the jail’s site.
The lawsuit, filed by Neighbors for Justice LLC, seeks a permanent injunction against use of the jail site.
Nancy Strong of Neighbors for Justice told the E-E that she was very pleased with Tuesday’s outcome.
“The jail needs to be built, certainly, but I think the location has to do with it.”
She said there had been “some difficulty with city and county getting along” and “perhaps now with (Sheriff) Rick Silver getting into office, he will have more involvement with the jail plan.”
She said Neighbors for Justice plans to go forward with the lawsuit “unless there is a change” with the site selection.
Dunlap said he doesn’t know what changes would be made to the proposed project, but that the commissioners would have to keep coming back to the voters until there is a package they can approve.
“I don’t’ know what changes we will make,” he said. “The site is certainly going to have to be on the table as well as the size and cost; those issues have to be addressed — even the ballot proposal may have to change.”
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
KOSG-FM hosts Jail Debate: Mon., Nov. 3rd 8 AM
KOSG-FM 103.9 hosts Jail Debate: Mon., Nov. 3rd at 8 AM - Local Radio Statioin
KOSG 103.9-FM and local TV station Tri-City TV Channel 59 will air a debate about the upcoming jail vote on Monday, November 3rd, the day before the election. Ty Hager will host the debate live at 8AM from the KOSG studio atop the Pioneer Building. The debate will be simulcast on http://www.1039rocks.com/. Tri-City TV will then broadcast the debate later in the day at 7pm on cable channel 59.Participating in the debate will be County Commissioner Mike Dunlap, a staunch supporter of the poposed new facility, and LuWana Brewster, spokesperson for Neighbors for Justice, which has filed suit in District Court seeking an injunction to prevent the jail from being built at its proposed West Side location.The debate will be moderated by KOSG's morning show host Ty Hager, who has interviewed both Dunlap and Brewster separately on his 8 AM Interview Hour in the past. "It definitely won't be your typical debate," Hager promises. As avid listeners to his morning News Bites know, Ty will surely deliver on this promise!
KOSG 103.9-FM and local TV station Tri-City TV Channel 59 will air a debate about the upcoming jail vote on Monday, November 3rd, the day before the election. Ty Hager will host the debate live at 8AM from the KOSG studio atop the Pioneer Building. The debate will be simulcast on http://www.1039rocks.com/. Tri-City TV will then broadcast the debate later in the day at 7pm on cable channel 59.Participating in the debate will be County Commissioner Mike Dunlap, a staunch supporter of the poposed new facility, and LuWana Brewster, spokesperson for Neighbors for Justice, which has filed suit in District Court seeking an injunction to prevent the jail from being built at its proposed West Side location.The debate will be moderated by KOSG's morning show host Ty Hager, who has interviewed both Dunlap and Brewster separately on his 8 AM Interview Hour in the past. "It definitely won't be your typical debate," Hager promises. As avid listeners to his morning News Bites know, Ty will surely deliver on this promise!
Why Vote NO on Jail Funding?
Editor,
Everyone knows Washington County needs a new jail. They know the City is being sued over the proposed location of the new jail. And they also know on Nov. 4th they will have to vote yes or no to raise sales tax and property taxes to pay for the new jail. All the while, the City Council and City Attorney pretend they have no idea what's going on. Confusion abounds. Who is doing what to whom and why? I want to try and shed some light on exactly what is happening.
The law suit petition, which is public information, can be found on several web sites so if I can find it, so can you. Google is our friend!
Several months ago, Washington County asked the City to re-zone 5.4 acres at Oak and Adams to build a new jail. Fifty-one percent of the property owners within a 300 foot radius signed a petition protesting a jail in their neighborhood. At the zoning hearing, the MAPC denied the County's request for rezoning. Washington County appealed the MAPC decision to the City Council on August 18th. The City Council denied the appeal by a 3 to 2 vote. One week later, on August 25th, the City Council reversed their vote and approved the County’s re-zoning request. Council member Vic Holcomb changed his vote under pressure from people in his ward. Just before he voted, Vic asked City Attorney Jerry Maddux if what they were about to do was legal. Mr. Maddux said that under "general law and Robert's Rules of Order" they can re-vote until they came to a "final, final" decision. Shorty thereafter, folks in the immediate neighborhood formed Neighbors for Justice, found legal representation and sued the City of Bartlesville asking for a permanent injunction against building the new jail at Oak and Adams.
Here's why the City is being sued. Our City Charter says any ordinance, other than an emergency, goes into affect "the day following publication" in the local newspaper. (Oklahoma Statute Title 11, 1-102(8)(a) also references this.) On August 19th, the day after the City Council's vote to deny Washington County's re-zoning request, the Examiner-Enterprise reported on the denial in its daily edition. Oklahoma Supreme Court decisions and State zoning decisions make it clear zoning laws have the same weight as an "ordinance." This makes the August 18th vote the elusive "final, final" decision Mr. Maddux was looking for.
The City also violated Bartlesville Municipal Code when they re-voted August 25th because a denied re-zoning request can not be brought back for reconsideration for one year after it is denied.
Not only did the illegal revote of August 25th violate the "wait one year" rule but OK Title 11, sec 43-106 requires a "twenty (days) notice prior to the hearing by mailing written notice" to property owners within a 300 foot radius of the proposed rezoning area. Bartlesville Municipal Code Appendix A, sec 7.653 also requires a 20 day notice and public hearing. The City violated OK Title 11 and Municipal Code by failing to give written notice and hold a public hearing. You can't cram 20 days into one week no matter how hard you push.
Are you still with me? I'm almost done. Washington County presented a different development plan to the City Council than the one they originally presented to the MAPC. Once again the City violated their own Municipal Code which requires the final site plan be substantially the same as the preliminary site plan.
So what does all this mean? Did I mention I'm not a lawyer? But if I can read and understand this stuff, so can you.
What this all means is that the City Council re-voted just because they wanted to and thought no one would notice. Well, the neighborhood certainly noticed. They noticed that their right to due process had been denied "just because" Washington County and the City Council wanted to build a new jail where they thought it could be put without protest. I think a lawsuit can be considered a protest, don't you? If this were in your neighborhood, I doubt if you would say, sure, cool, build the new jail right across from my house.
Mr. Maddux stated that "general law and Robert's Rules of Order" gives the Council the authority to vote again until they reach a "final, final" vote. That seems ridiculous to me because the Council has never adopted Robert's Rules of Order as their governing authority. Besides, since when does Robert’s Rules or “general law” trump Oklahoma State laws, Bartlesville City Charter and Municipal Code? The City should be nervous, very nervous.
Nov. 4th we are being asked to approve a half cent sales tax increase AND a property tax increase to build a new county jail. But we have no idea where it will be built because of this lawsuit. Does this make sense to you?
Don’t let the County or the City or anyone else tell you that the State requires we build a new jail. Don Garrison, State Jail Inspector, stated at the League of Women Voters’ forum that no one has mandated that the county must build a new jail. “I don’t care … that you ever build a new jail, but you’ve got to correct (the) problems in the jail now,” he said. That can mean farming out prisoners or fixing the old jail – or building a new jail.
What can YOU do? Tell Washington County to find a location for the new jail at least 1/4 mile from any residential neighborhood BEFORE they ask you to vote on new taxes. Wait to find out what the real costs will be if the lawsuit is successful and the jail site is forced to move. As County Commissioner Mike Dunlap has so helpfully pointed out, the tax approval ballot will be "yellow" to distinguish it from the others. Vote NO on the yellow ballot!
George Henshaw
Bartlesville
Everyone knows Washington County needs a new jail. They know the City is being sued over the proposed location of the new jail. And they also know on Nov. 4th they will have to vote yes or no to raise sales tax and property taxes to pay for the new jail. All the while, the City Council and City Attorney pretend they have no idea what's going on. Confusion abounds. Who is doing what to whom and why? I want to try and shed some light on exactly what is happening.
The law suit petition, which is public information, can be found on several web sites so if I can find it, so can you. Google is our friend!
Several months ago, Washington County asked the City to re-zone 5.4 acres at Oak and Adams to build a new jail. Fifty-one percent of the property owners within a 300 foot radius signed a petition protesting a jail in their neighborhood. At the zoning hearing, the MAPC denied the County's request for rezoning. Washington County appealed the MAPC decision to the City Council on August 18th. The City Council denied the appeal by a 3 to 2 vote. One week later, on August 25th, the City Council reversed their vote and approved the County’s re-zoning request. Council member Vic Holcomb changed his vote under pressure from people in his ward. Just before he voted, Vic asked City Attorney Jerry Maddux if what they were about to do was legal. Mr. Maddux said that under "general law and Robert's Rules of Order" they can re-vote until they came to a "final, final" decision. Shorty thereafter, folks in the immediate neighborhood formed Neighbors for Justice, found legal representation and sued the City of Bartlesville asking for a permanent injunction against building the new jail at Oak and Adams.
Here's why the City is being sued. Our City Charter says any ordinance, other than an emergency, goes into affect "the day following publication" in the local newspaper. (Oklahoma Statute Title 11, 1-102(8)(a) also references this.) On August 19th, the day after the City Council's vote to deny Washington County's re-zoning request, the Examiner-Enterprise reported on the denial in its daily edition. Oklahoma Supreme Court decisions and State zoning decisions make it clear zoning laws have the same weight as an "ordinance." This makes the August 18th vote the elusive "final, final" decision Mr. Maddux was looking for.
The City also violated Bartlesville Municipal Code when they re-voted August 25th because a denied re-zoning request can not be brought back for reconsideration for one year after it is denied.
Not only did the illegal revote of August 25th violate the "wait one year" rule but OK Title 11, sec 43-106 requires a "twenty (days) notice prior to the hearing by mailing written notice" to property owners within a 300 foot radius of the proposed rezoning area. Bartlesville Municipal Code Appendix A, sec 7.653 also requires a 20 day notice and public hearing. The City violated OK Title 11 and Municipal Code by failing to give written notice and hold a public hearing. You can't cram 20 days into one week no matter how hard you push.
Are you still with me? I'm almost done. Washington County presented a different development plan to the City Council than the one they originally presented to the MAPC. Once again the City violated their own Municipal Code which requires the final site plan be substantially the same as the preliminary site plan.
So what does all this mean? Did I mention I'm not a lawyer? But if I can read and understand this stuff, so can you.
What this all means is that the City Council re-voted just because they wanted to and thought no one would notice. Well, the neighborhood certainly noticed. They noticed that their right to due process had been denied "just because" Washington County and the City Council wanted to build a new jail where they thought it could be put without protest. I think a lawsuit can be considered a protest, don't you? If this were in your neighborhood, I doubt if you would say, sure, cool, build the new jail right across from my house.
Mr. Maddux stated that "general law and Robert's Rules of Order" gives the Council the authority to vote again until they reach a "final, final" vote. That seems ridiculous to me because the Council has never adopted Robert's Rules of Order as their governing authority. Besides, since when does Robert’s Rules or “general law” trump Oklahoma State laws, Bartlesville City Charter and Municipal Code? The City should be nervous, very nervous.
Nov. 4th we are being asked to approve a half cent sales tax increase AND a property tax increase to build a new county jail. But we have no idea where it will be built because of this lawsuit. Does this make sense to you?
Don’t let the County or the City or anyone else tell you that the State requires we build a new jail. Don Garrison, State Jail Inspector, stated at the League of Women Voters’ forum that no one has mandated that the county must build a new jail. “I don’t care … that you ever build a new jail, but you’ve got to correct (the) problems in the jail now,” he said. That can mean farming out prisoners or fixing the old jail – or building a new jail.
What can YOU do? Tell Washington County to find a location for the new jail at least 1/4 mile from any residential neighborhood BEFORE they ask you to vote on new taxes. Wait to find out what the real costs will be if the lawsuit is successful and the jail site is forced to move. As County Commissioner Mike Dunlap has so helpfully pointed out, the tax approval ballot will be "yellow" to distinguish it from the others. Vote NO on the yellow ballot!
George Henshaw
Bartlesville
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