LWV to host public meeting on proposed jail

(This is a copy from an Examiner news article. We wanted to add that Nancy Strong will be at the meeting representing Neighbors for Justice.)

By E-E Staff Report

The League of Women Voters of the Bartlesville Area will hold a meeting to discuss the proposed new Washington County jail, LWV spokespersons said this week.

The meeting will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor meeting room of the Bartlesville Public Library in downtown Bartlesville.

Funding proposals for the new jail will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, when voters will be asked to approve two ballot measures to fund the facility.

Funding proposals include an ad valorem tax to total $13.5 million of the projected $18,650,000 cost of the facility, and a half-cent sales tax — one quarter-cent to fund the remaining amount of construction and one quarter-cent, which will be permanent, for ongoing maintenance and operation. If approved the facility will be constructed near Eighth Street and Oak Avenue.

The following people are expected to participate in the meeting:

• Mike Dunlap, Washington County Commissioner District No. 3.
  Dunlap serves as chairman of the County Commissioners. Prior to his election as commissioner, he served three years on the Bartlesville City Council.
• Don Garrison, director of Jail Inspections with the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
• Rick Silver, Washington County sheriff. Silver served with the Bartlesville Police Department until his election to sheriff in July. His most recent work has been in the area of illegal drug enforcement.
• Bettye Williams, member of the Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee. Williams has been a member of the committee since it was founded in 2005. Williams, a longtime resident of Bartlesville, retired from Phillips Petroleum in 1995 and has served the community as assistant to the Washington County Election Board and as a member of the board of directors of the Salvation Army and the Agape Mission.

The moderator of the panel will be Kathy Hinkle, member of the Tulsa Metro League of Women Voters. She is former president of the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma, and is presently a Tulsa Metro League of Women Voters board member and the League’s Voter Service chairman.

There will be time for audience questions and answers after the presentations.

This meeting is open to all. Attendees may bring lunch and a drink if desired.