Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 11, 1995 TAG: 9502140025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The counties of Pulaski, Floyd, Giles and Grayson and the city of Radford must ante up another $500 each to stay in the game. The money is needed for a new plan that must be drawn up for the state because Tazewell County decided this month to withdraw and try to organize a regional jail with Buchanan, Dickenson and Russell counties.
The remaining localities also must sign an agreement creating a regional jail authority before the state Department of Corrections will consider 50 percent state funding.
All of this must happen this month if the state is to pay half of the project's costs. Projects submitted after February qualify for 25 percent state funding at the most.
To be cost-effective, the regional jail must get half its funding from the state and have participation of all five localities.
Representatives of those localities agreed at Friday's regional jail committee meeting that the project, as originally conceived, would have saved all of them money in operating costs and in not having to upgrade aging jails. But they were upset at how the state has kept changing the requirements.
After the original group - which included Wythe and Carroll counties - completed the preliminary study required by the state, the General Assembly enacted a requirement for a second, more elaborate study.
That was done. But now Tony Casale, who represents the state Department of Criminal Justice Services and who must approve the project, wants each locality to keep its local jail to hold prisoners awaiting trial.
The state could pay part of the cost of local improvements since the local jails would become part of the regional project.
The authority agreement, which Radford already has accepted, provides that a locality can withdraw before the authority incurs any debt, or by paying its share of any debt.
by CNB