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County decides to seek another jail bond
Elmore County elected officials have agreed a new jail facility is a necessity and will ask voters this fall to approve a bond for construction of the new facility. The county commissioners asked each of the elected county officials to "go on record" regarding their support of the proposal. The response was unanimous. This brings the 12 year old project to the next step toward building a new jail: securing funds for construction.
The continuing trend in low interest rates for construction loans and signs of resurgence in the local real estate market are encouraging. County commissioners and citizen volunteers will begin speaking with communities across the county to inform them of the work completed and the reasons for moving ahead with the bond initiative for the November ballot.
Questions about location were settled several years ago with the purchase of land on E. 8th North Street near the golf course. The commissioners worked with several citizen workgroups and received input from the public on the general design for a new facility. Voters turned down previous bond initiatives in part due to the mixed support expressed by both county officials and workgroup volunteers. While issues with size kept the question of a new jail bond from moving forward, the need for the new facility continued to grow.
The current jail, built approximately 30 years ago, no longer meets the minimum guidelines established for detention facilities. Courts recognize the guidelines as adequate for detention facilities. Other small county jails of similar age were recently closed by the courts when conditions no longer met minimum facility standards. The capacity of the old jail was reached several years ago and adaptive programs such as work release can no longer ease the overcrowding. There were periods over the past several years when a 'waiting list' had to be established for persons who had to remain in the community while waiting for available space in the current jail to serve time imposed by the county court.
Meanwhile, the population of Mountain Home, and the county overall, continues to rise. While the number of crimes committed as a percentage of the population has remained fairly constant, the overall growth in the population places additional strain on an already overburdened system.
"Often folks forget that the county jail serves as the only detention facility for the county as a whole, but also as a holding and processing facility for Mountain Home, other local law enforcement and federal detainees in transit," said Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher.
"When everything is totaled, the answer is clear: the window of opportunity for the citizens of Elmore County to act on this issue in a way that reflects the hard work of the county's elected officials and numerous concerned citizen volunteers is quickly closing," said Decker Sanders, jail bond committee member. "The courts have not been shy about closing similar facilities and directing solutions with the costs borne by the counties involved. A lot of good folks have worked in good faith a long time to come to this point and it is time to move ahead."
Questions or comments on the jail bond issue are encouraged and may be directed to the jail committee by mail:
Attention Jail Committee, c/o Elmore County Commissioners, 150 S. 4th East St. Suite #3, Mountain Home, Idaho 83647; or by e-mail to: