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Show $2.8 million Jail bond election planned By MICHELLE BATE Record Reporter CEDAR CITY Iron County voters on Dec. 1 will have an opportunity to vote for or against a $2.8 million bond to build a new hall of justice facility. The total cost of the jail, courts and law enforcement facilities, according to James L. Clark, is an estimated $4.8 million. The County plans on raising the rest of the funds for the facility through taxes and the recent sale of the hospital, and it may also be possible to obtain an interest-free loan which would cut costs considerably., . The cost of the facility will double in the next six years. The 40-year-old building is below standards for both new and existing facilities, according to the consultants. ' In addition, many believe that the jail cannot be run effectively to meet constitutional standards. The jail could be shut down by a federal mandate. Thus, prisoners would need to be kept in neighboring towns and transferred to Parowan for any legal proceedings, a very expensive proposition. . . According to architect Bob Boyle, the new jail will be built, it is just a matter of time. Right now the people have the opportunity to pick the time and they peed to keep in mind that costs are continually rising. . ; ''One thing that really scares us is if we should be forced to build a building because this one is inadequate. We are going to be told what to put in it, and the cost will be higher," said Commission Chairman Dee Cowan. Most of people present at the meeting , Thursday night seemed converted to ; fact that the County needs a new jail. They want the best building possible for the smallest amount of money, and the architects assured them that nothing will be in the Jail that is not Deeded. But there will be further expansion in the future. ' Boyle explained that you need to be able to add on without destroying what you have originally built ; Should the bond go through on Dec. 1 the County would go through with the bid in May and construction could begin in July. It is estimated that $70,000 to $80,000 could be saved in construction costs if building were to begin this spring. The new hall of justice building will contain a correctional facility, sheriff's department offices, Ninth Circuit Court, Cedar City Police offices and justice of the peace hearing rooms. ,. There would also be a better security system present The new jail would eliminate having to transfer items of importance from building to building because everything would be combined into one facility. |