Friday, April 14, 2000
Latest deadline for finding Kenton County jail site: July 1
BY Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — July 1 is the latest deadline for choosing a site for a new Kenton County Jail, members of the Kenton County Jail Commission learned Thursday.
“That's the date Judge (-executive Dick) Murgatroyd is looking at,” said Ralph Bailey, the retired county administrator now serving as project manager. “We are looking at sites. We are trying to get information together so that we can meet that deadline.”
The jail commission is a volunteer group charged with advising Kenton Fiscal Court on everything from the design to the financing of a new jail. It will next meet May 11.
After rejecting two suburban sites last year, county officials have said they are looking at four to six sites in downtown Covington to replace the crowded, inefficient jail near the riverfront.
“The site will somewhat determine what happens to (the Kenton County Administration) building,” Mr. Bailey said. “If the site is large enough so that it would provide space for the county (offices), that's certainly something to be looked at.”
Depending on the site chosen and the costs involved, the county may build the jail, then add county offices later, Mr. Bailey said.
“If the site is not large enough, we would probably remain in (the county building),” he said.
Jail commission members asked how they can make financial projections without knowing where the jail will be built.
“Not having the site, you don't know acquisition costs, or whether you build up,” said Joe Pennington, rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Covington. He added that it's also difficult to design the jail so that it blends in with the surrounding community.
Mr. Bailey suggested that commission members in charge of finance and budget issues meet with County Treasurer Ivan Frye to discuss how large a jail the county can afford to build, and whether the county can build that jail with present revenues. If not, they must decide where the money would come from.
Mr. Bailey also asked jail commission members to decide what factors are most important in a new jail, such as size, design, operations, special programs and types of inmates.
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