Residents

who are pushing for a public hearing on plans for

a new Fayette County Jail will get their wish,

says County Commission Chairman Harold Bost.

"We

do plan to have a public hearing in the very near

future," Bost told The Citizen this week,

"either in December or January."

County

officials will offer a detailed presentation of

plans for the jail and will invite public comment

on those plans, he said, but added that those who

want the jail built somewhere other than its

planned site between Lee Street and Jimmie

Mayfield Boulevard will have a difficult time

making their case.

"There

are so many reasons that that's where it's got to

be, that it would be hard to justify it to the

taxpayers if we decided to put it anywhere

else," said Bost. "But we will listen,

as we have up to this point," he added.

Residents

who attended the commissioners' Oct. 28 meeting

not only called for a public hearing on the jail,

but asked commissioners to back off on making any

final decisions until the public has a chance to

comment.

"We

don't want a discussion that's only about what

color the toilet seats are and whether the

building is round or square," said Jim Fair

of Fayetteville. Fair and his wife, Denise, have

been at the forefront of efforts to convince the

commission to move the jail out of downtown

Fayetteville to a more sparsely populated area.

Commissioners

are discussing plans to add two new housing pods,

each holding 192 inmates, to the existing jail,

which has beds for 75.

The

existing jail would then be renovated to provide

maximum security for those accused of violent

crimes. One of the new pods would house

medium-security inmates, while the other would be

a dormitory-type facility for status offenders.

Total

capacity of all three pods would be 459 inmates,

with space set aside for two additional

192-prisoner pods in case they should be needed

in the future.

Plans

also include building a new three-story

courthouse facility next to the jail, and

connecting jail and courthouse with an

underground passageway so prisoners can be

transported to court sessions without the

additional risk of taking them outside.

In

addition to general comment on the plans for the

jail, Bost said commissioners will be seeking

residents' advice on how to fund the project. The

jail and courthouse are expected to cost around

$60 million.

Residents

like the Fairs say increasing the size of the

current jail will mean increasing the risks to

the surrounding community, which includes schools

and homes.

"There's

no guarantees in life," resident Etna Sweeva

told commissioners. "It's not a good idea to

have a jail near our schools."

Catherine

Young of Woodgate Drive said the jail is

"practically in my front door. Why suddenly

do we have to have a jail at our doors?"

"A

lot of us feel like we're being railroaded,"

added Cecil Weaver. "There should be an

opportunity for the public to voice their

opinions."

Bost

said officials will try to convince residents

that the planned location is the safest one

available, even as they listen to residents voice

their feelings, positive or negative. "We'll

try in the presentation to show everybody why the

jail has to be where we've got it planned,"

he said.

Then,

he added, "We'll let those that are for it

and those that are against it have their say and

move forward from there."

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