Kathy, I remember when the jail in Winchester was built and there were many questions circulating the community. There were many concerns but with all of the activity surrounding the issue and the fact that there is a big difference between a jail and a prision, hopefully the community will be put at ease.
Mara- Yes it is a tough one...no on wants a jail.
Jane- I remember when they made that jail, and I just hope we don't have one of those ugly Bail Bonds as prominent as the one on Winchester Road. The good thing is there isn't really any commercial property to speak of in this part of Whitewater so maybe we won't be stuck with a Bail Bond.
There's always concerns about building prisons and depending on the area and the circumstances I think I'd rather have the offender locked up rather than roaming the neighborhood :)
Sally- Those are good points, but most people appear to want them locked up in your neighborhood and not ours :)
Hi Kathy,
Interesting, I haven't clicked over yet, but I am interested in this project. Since it's a county jail can I would imagine it would service the entire desert community, correct? And do you know where these folks are housed now? Sorry for the questions, maybe the link will provide that info.
Sally- in our case the Jail will be in our front yard...the first thing you see going into the Coachella Valley, unless they do some serious landscaping :)
Lynda- The Jail is to be built on the left side of the 10 a few miles past the Casino. The Haughen-Lehmann exit (1 before the 111) then backtracking a mile or so down the major east/west street.
And to answer your question, yes it will service the entire desert area. At build out it is supposed to be a 7,000 bed facility. Banning houses some at the Larry D. Smith Facility, some in Riverside and some are in Temecula, and other than that I honestly don't know. The County Supervisors said they looked at several areas before deciding on this one. Our proximity to the freeway and being about half way in the middle of the county they decided to build here.
Recently several of the Hotel and Entertainment personell in Palm Springs have gotten together to voice their displeasure at this choice as well as the petition that is online. Apparently though the petition is only good for a 25 mile radius. I don;'t know if that's true, but that's what I heard.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks so much for the info, since my comment I clicked on over to view the link. It was an interesting contrast between the perceived affluence (accurate or othewise) of the desert vs. the jail/prison image and environment. As someone who personally loves your overall community, I can see why it could be a concern, yet not sure if it's a 100% negative at this point. I think you would have a far better perspective in the long run.
I would imagine the Indian communites would have a big influence on the overall issue.
Lynda- I find your comment interesting about it not being 100% negative. I have tried to tell people that unless they can find something major wrong with the EIR or there are water issues, I doubt anything will prevent it's being built here. Many of the complaints are emotional in nature, and as we all know that isn't enough. My wish is that the County will help mitigate some of our community infrastructure issues as we have been neglected for years. Also interesting that you mentioned the Indians as I haven't heard a word yet as to their position.
I do know that Banning is trying to get the State to put a bigger Court System here. I heard it is a done deal, but nothing concrete.
Hi Kathy, we have several jails in our vicinity and we've never had any real issues with them. I do know that they brought quite a few very needed jobs. But..what I've learned is, if the state, city/county decide they want to build it they will. People can protest all they want, but the city, county and state will do whatever they want regardless of the community. At least that's what happens in my neck of the woods.jost
Kathy good luck in getting answers. We fought one here in Middletown and the only way that we got real answers to our concerns was by forming a committee, request documents, and do a lot of research. We were successful in the end, but it required a lot of hard work.
I wish you the best of luck on this one Kathy, I know you have been fighting it for awhile now and I think you would be a great leader of this fight!
Go get 'em,
Kathy, I'd be interested to hear how the meeting goes. We have a jail not far from us--about 20 minutes from my house. I can tell you that on more then a few occasions we've had helicopters overhead looking for escapees. It's unnerving. Let us know how it goes. And Happy New Year if I'm not online tomorrow!!
Kathy one good thing it could bring jobs to the area. May even help the crime rate not that you have a higher crime rate. However when it comes to what gov't wants gov't gets. No one wants a jail in the front yard, not exactly good curb appeal.
To all.....I found out that although we are having a meeting for all intent and purposes this is a done deal, money allocated and all. So the best we can do is try to have the County give the community some upgrades, and things that have been neglected for years.
That is a tough change for any town...a lot of questions, listening and searching of the heart..