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Community Corner

Newest Johnson County Supervisor Wants to Rethink Justice Center: Daily Iowan Reader, March 7

Also inside: Cremation rates rise in Iowa and nationwide, Senior center sees participation spike, Iowa women set for Big Ten tourney.

Newest Johnson County supervisor wants to rethink justice center

Before being elected Tuesday evening to the last vacant seat on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, John Etheredge has dreamt big in regards to growing the economic base of Johnson County.

Running on the foundations of prosperous small business and farming sectors, Etheredge said he is an active opponent of raising taxes for all individuals. However, he emphasizes that bonds used for county projects should not be implemented if money is readily available in the budget.

Once the board’s current issues have been addressed, Etheredge said that he plans to introduce an alternative Justice Center proposal, citing the extensive and expensive current plan.

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“I’m not for the current proposed Justice Center,” he said. “My first plan is to find an alternative . . . You’re looking at $43 million and if I’m against it, I’ve got to have my own agenda and plan worked out. I’m not against doing technology upgrades, renovations or adding on to [current facilities] all together, but building a brand new facility is not the answer right now.”

In February, supervisors voted in favor of a smaller $46.2 million complex. Taxpayers will be responsible for $43.5 million. The new proposal calls for a 195-bed jail and court space, down from the original 243-bed proposal.

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Despite Etheredge’s tentative details, Supervisor Pat Harney believes the option of expanding and renovating current facilities can’t be justified at this time.

“It’s really not viable at this time to expand that,” he said, adding this has been entertained by current Supervisors. “It’s not just the jail, it’s the court space we need as well. We can’t go up because there wasn’t sufficient footings on the original [jail] structure and we can’t build out because there’s not enough ground [around the jail] to expand upon.”

Read more here.


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