THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150448
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
A state delegate has thrown up a barricade to a proposed regional jail to be located in the Hattonsville section of the city.
Del. Kenneth R. Melvin said he will introduce legislation during the special session of the General Assembly to stop the city from building a jail in a poor, elderly black neighborhood. The session will begin Monday.
The bill would amend a section of the state code regarding jail locations. The code now says that regional jails may not be located in cities that will not benefit from the jail, unless the city gives express permission. Melvin plans to add a section barring any regional jail in Hattonsville.
``This community of elderly people is being put upon because it's the route of least resistance for the city,'' Melvin said during a press conference Wednesday. More than a dozen residents attended.
Council members, including those who opposed building the jail in Hattonsville, were surprised by Melvin's move to introduce a bill.
``That's so totally off the wall,'' said Mayor Gloria O. Webb. ``He's supposed to represent the city. We've looked at Churchland. We have looked at every option.''
Webb and Councilman Cameron C. Pitts vowed to ask other area legislators for support in defeating the amendment. Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton also have a stake in the jail, which would house inmates from each of the cities. The $59 million jail would have 875 beds.
``We really are rather far down the road in this process,'' said Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, who is on the regional jail authority. ``I would hate to think that it would stall now. We've been trying for years to get this thing done.''
Norfolk is about to begin a $21 million expansion of its jail to add 317 beds, Fraim said. The jail now has 900 beds and about 1,400 inmates, he said.
Melvin said Portsmouth could build the jail in the wealthier sections of Churchland or Riverpointe, or it could be located in one of the other three cities.
The General Assembly has power over the regional jails because it provides up to half the funding for each of the facilities.
Residents said Wednesday they were angry that the city approved a use permit for the property on Monday, even though many of the residents could not make it up six flights of stairs. The elevator was not working because of a power failure.
They also said they felt betrayed by the city.
``I feel like everything was lost,'' said Dorothy Brown, 70, who has lived in Hattonsville for 40 years. ``But it can be turned around.''
Hattonsville is a predominantly black community that was settled after the Civil War. The city's housing authority condemned much of the neighborhood more than 15 years ago. The city wanted to demolish the deteriorating homes and take the property for an industrial site. After years of fighting with residents, the city agreed to set aside 6.3 acres for residential development and zoned the remaining 73 acres for industrial development.
Willie N. Brewer said he and many other residents thought the city would put warehouses behind their new homes. If they had known the city wanted to put a jail there, they would not have built in the area.
Webb said that under the previous zoning, ``the highest, most obnoxious kind of industry you can have'' could have located there. ``This is absolutely better than what could be put out there.''
The council selected the Hattonsville site because it already owns the land, there is enough room for the jail and, they said, few other uses could be made of that land.
The city would earn $2 million by selling the land to the regional jail authority, and it would gain an additional $250,000 annually as payment in lieu of taxes. The jail would also bring 350 jobs to the city. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Del. Kenneth R. Melvin visits the Hattonsville section to announce
that he will introduce a bill to oppose locating the jail there.
KEYWORDS: REGIONAL JAIL CORRECTIONAL CENTER PROPOSED PORTSMOUTH by CNB