Task Force OKs Plans for Detention Center

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Action taken by the Major Capital Projects Task Force Wednesday clears the way for the Moore County Board of Commissioners to authorize the architect to complete plans for construction of a public safety-detention center at a Monday meeting.

If the board approves the plans recommended by the task force, it is expected that the Ware-Bonsall architectural firm will complete the plans within two weeks.

Architect Glenn Ware said he hopes to open bids by the end of July and to award a contract in September. Construction of the multi-million dollar project will take about 21 months for completion.

The task force, chaired by Chief Deputy Neil Godfrey, met Wednesday to examine and approve a few changes needed in the site plan since the commissioners voted not to place the new government office building on the same tract with the public safety-detention center. No changes were made in the building design, a red brick and glass structure with the public safety portion three stories high and the detention center in mezzanine style with four levels, one underground.

Ware said changes to the site plan were minor, including elimination of some parking designated for the government office building. A few changes in grading and sidewalks were also made.

The commissioners on Monday will also be asked to approve two alternates to be included in the call for bids. One alternate concerns the use of the existing jail as a future addition, the other alternate will cover a wall needed to provide storage space for the jail in the event the old jail is not used.

Commissioners’ Chairman Tim Lea, a member of the task force, said the alternates will give the county options for cost-saving when bids are opened.

More details will appear in the print version of The Pilot.

More like this story

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

"The task force, chaired by Chief Deputy Neil Godfrey", isn't that like putting the fox in the hen house to watch the chickens? Is anyone on "The Task Force" LMAO ~ not an employee or affiliated indirectly with county politics? This is a joke! Going to cost taxpayers millions after the sweet land deal Larry Caddell worked out for his buddy Johnnie Grimm.

It would have been much less expensive to pay for Sheriff Joe Arpaio with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department in Arizonia to fly in and explain to Sheriff Carter and his County Board of Commissioners how to manage taxpayer money and run a detention center. But then again, Sheriff Carter can boast about his new Gold Bar Hilton on water front property in downtown Carthage. Flat screen High Def cable in the rooms? 'O cells.

FaithinUSA 2 years, 11 months ago

Were cutting jobs,services,employee longevity pay, BUT spend millions on a detention center with a mezzanine . How about cable and a weight room and some dietitians . And your cutting the school budget!!!!!!!! did I miss something?? Maybe a better idea is 20 acres with barb wire fencing and a guard house and they can be housed in a plain old block building and plant a garden for food and get off the taxpayer dollar. How do you people sleep at night.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 11 months ago

Do you even know what a mezzanine is? And why it's an efficient design for a jail that allows fewer guards to supervise more inmates?

I give up. There is no way for one person to deal with this endless tide of ignorance.

None 2 years, 11 months ago

"I give up. There is no way for one person to deal with this endless tide of ignorance." Dusty are you referring to the tax and spend elected officials? I agree with SCCstudent. Lane Carter could take a page from Joe Arpaio's book on how to manage law breakers: tents are cheaper than mortor and brick. Why should the taxpayers provide those who are convicted of crimes a state of the art facility? No wonder North Carolina has the highest recidivism rate in the country.

And, please stop using Pinehurst nomenclature: "ignortant". As if everyone else is smart, intelligent or knowledgeable who posts opinions in keeping with the masses?

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

Who are you calling "ignorant"? Sheriff Carter or Larry and the boys? Opp's and then there was Cindy!

BTW: tides ebb and flow ~ just like opinions. "efficient design for a jail that allows fewer guards to supervise more inmates? " will the Gold Bar Hilton have guards on gun towers just like the DOC?

I agree with Toda - tents and sleeping bags are a lot cheaper than sticks and bricks. And since many of them have experience with "grow your own", they could cultivate gardens and learn slaughtering skills for hogs and beef. Self supportive ~ and many of them may not want a repeat visit to the Gold Bar Hilton. However, a great place to stay during lean times in this economy. Three hots and a cot!

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

And by the way Dusty => our warriors in arms have to live in tents for months and years eating MRE's. But that type of enviornment isn't good enough for those who commit crimes. If our men and women serving our country can live in tents and eat out of a bag, then those who sell drugs, break into others property, sexually abuse children, and commit felony's deserve no less.

Lane Carter should stop pampering those who make a conscience decision to commit a crime. But then it's an ego trip for the HIGH SHERIFF!

LucilleGreybone 2 years, 11 months ago

@Toda - If you don't agree with Dusty you are ignorant, racist, and/or a fanboy/girl.

He is the typical condescending leftist. He can never be wrong. The endless tide of ignorance is spewing from his own leftist lips. The bad thing is that he really believes in himself.

I know he'll say i'm a jackass, etc. That's ok, I never claimed to be smart, funny, or pretty. I do know a d-bag when I spot one though. My spotter ain't broken, in fact he's in clear focus. I won't post about this again.

I'm not saying this because I disagree with him politically. It just feels like he throws tantrums when no one will tell him he's right. Especially when someone does out debate him, he resorts to name calling like redneck, fanboy, and ignorant.

I hate to break it to him, but he isn't as big city as he thinks. He's just a speck like the rest of us in good ol' Carthage, NC.

~ LG

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

Hummm ~ LG....I like the town and the people ~ have family in Carthage. But not the cesspool in the center of town.

TheNeedle 2 years, 11 months ago

Perhaps we could put this "tent jail" in Toda's back yard. Or SCC Student's. Since they're such an effective way of securing prisoners.

The good citizens of Carthage nearly had a mass stroke over a brick and mortar jail. How do you think they'd react to one made of canvas?

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

Good point ~ if the county would pay me or Toda millions like they did Johnnie, well bring it on. Did you ever think of boarding the perimeter of the fence with leland cypress to block out the scenic beauty of taxpayers dollars at work? All for about 5% of the cost of a brand new Carter Memorial Gold Bar Hilton...and less recitivism.

But the abandoned prison on 15-501 wouldn't work because it has a roof in tact. O' but they already have fences and gun towers....

The way the economy is going, I think the place to be is in the new Complex...three hots and a cot. Maybe flat screen tv with cable!

None 2 years, 11 months ago

I would accept a proposal for my property...I would even take tax appraised value since it is 20 thousand more than two appraisals prepared by certified appraisers. If I wait until next year when there isn't an election, my property value will probably go up another 30% based on past performance by the tax department. The Moore County Board of Commissioners have to sweeten the budget requests of the Schools and SCC. Get ready taxpayers for the sledge hammer effect to property re-evaluation.

Good points SCCstudent. I bet the commissioners have an engraved gold plaque with their names and in honor of Sheriff Lane Carter. He should be commended for providing the best accomodations our money can buy.

None 2 years, 11 months ago

The Needle ~ want to see how a real Sheriff operates his jail? It costs 28 cents a day to feed his prisoners. Inmates don't want to come back to his jail ~ they move to NC... http://www.mcso.org/

dustyrhoades 2 years, 11 months ago

As always, the people who whine the most about name calling are the quickest to do it.

silentbob 2 years, 11 months ago

SCC student I am not totally disagreeing with you on the fact that the people who committ crimes have it way to easy and live in better conditions that some people in our communities do but I do disagree with all the blame for that being place in Sheriff Carter. The legislature in the states set most of those standards and Sheriff Carter has to run the jail by the rules. It should be changed but the sheriff of the county does not have the ability by hisself to change it. We need to do something about it when we vote because this state does spend way to much money on housing criminals.

None 2 years, 11 months ago

dustyrhoades ~ show me one post where I called or referenced that someone was ignorant! You sir are blowing smoke!

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

silentbob => you do make a good point. Did you happen to follow the link Toda provided for Sheriff Joe Arpaio? So there must not be any federal law or guildlines requiring prisoners to be housed in brick and mortor buildings. Since Sheriff Arpaio houses some of his worst inmates in tents.

Now I stand to be corrected here: but as long as inmates are provided a secure and dry place to sleep, three nutrious meals a day, at least 1 hour of exercise, then the requirements are met. Just not in a multimillion dollar taxpayer funded resort like Lane Carters' Gold Bar Hilton.

Let me ask you a question. Isn't what our government provides for our warriors to live in for months and years in foreign counties, good enough for those who have committed crimes here in our own country? I think a tent farm is more than generous for pedofiles and murders and drug dealers who corrupt the fragile minds of our children.

Just my opinion, but I think our priorities are screwed up. Treating the worst amongst us like royalty. Do you remember the movie Cool Hand Luke and the work farms in Louisiana. Rest assured, they didn't want to come back or commit another crime. Unlike today, when inmates commit major infractions in our prison system just to get to stay! Better than what they have at home in many cases.

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

silentbob => on Sheriff Arpaino's website: "Support the Sheriff's youth assitance foundation and buy a pair of pink underwear". The walls of his jail are painted pink, the bars, the cells, pink jumpsuits, but I think the tents are still canvas - used military.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 11 months ago

Tough talk, Splinter, for a someone hiding behind an alias. Why don't you take responsibility for your own words, you sniveling coward?

TheNeedle 2 years, 11 months ago

"Let me ask you a question. Isn't what our government provides for our warriors to live in for months and years in foreign counties, good enough for those who have committed crimes here in our own country?"

We're not trying to keep "our warriors" from escaping.

Oh, and all of you so eager to fall worshipfully at the feet of Sheriff Joe should probably read the Arizona Dept of Public Safety's report on Crime in Arizona 2009 (if, that is, you can tear yourself away from licking the Sheriff's jackboots long enough). Since 2002, as violent crime has fallen 12% across Arizona, it’s risen in Maricopa County by fifty-eight percent.

Phoenix showed a 14% drop in violent crime since 2002; Scottsdale 15%, and Mesa 30%...but they're not under Arpaio, they have their own departments. It’s just the unincorporated parts of the county where violent crime has spiked.

In addition:

"Response times, arrest rates, investigations and other routine police work throughout Maricopa County have suffered over the past two years as Sheriff Joe Arpaio turned his already short-handed and cash-strapped department into an immigration enforcement agency, a Tribune investigation found.

Response times on life-threatening emergencies have slowed across the county, with residents on average waiting 10 minutes or more in most patrol districts. The County Board of Supervisors has set five minutes as the expected standard."

http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/8377

http://www.azdps.gov/About/Reports/docs/Crime_In_Arizona_Report_2009.pdf

TheNeedle 2 years, 11 months ago

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

TheNeedle =>"We're not trying to keep "our warriors" from escaping." What a ludicrous statement! What are you talking about? Apparently you can't see the trees for the forest...if our military can live in tents for months and years on end, then why aren't prisoners housed in tents as well?

Under the State law Arrests by Sheriff’s deputies of persons transporting or being transported illegally into Arizona: 2,066

Under the Federal law Arrests by Sheriff’s deputies who, in the course of their duties, determine the arrestee is in Arizona illegally: 1,928

ICE “Holds” Each inmate booked is interviewed for immigration status. Sheriff’s detention officers have turned over 34,418 illegal immigrants to Immigration authorities for deportation.

No other detention facility in the country, state or county can boast of 2,000 convicts in tents; no other county or state facility can boast of a gleaning program that results in costs of under 15 cents per meal per inmate; few others can say they have women in tents or on chain gangs and no other sheriff's office in the United States today has a volunteer posse of 3,000 men and women, people from the community who spend their time and money to train to be volunteers helping to keep the county free from crime. From an enforcement perspective, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office prides itself on serving and protecting the people who live in a huge county... 9,200 square miles... an area larger than some states. Furthermore, Sheriff Arpaio has a philosophy of zero tolerance towards the criminal element, which has been embraced by deputies and community alike. Because of Arpaio's immense popularity, citizens have united in a partnership with law enforcement to an unprecedented degree. His office is proud to be on the leading edge of law enforcement and incarceration.

I guess Needle is all a matter of which web presence one searches. Put a 12 foot high fence around the lake front property with constania wire, boarder the exterior perimeter with leland cypress - staggered - and set up used military tents the same as used in Afganistan and Iraq by our troops. What do child molesters, drug dealers, murders and those who steal from working class, need a multimillion dollar state-of-the-art facility?

None 2 years, 11 months ago

Needle ~ The position of the Sheriff has become more of a business than law enforcement. "Compounding the substantive problems are chronically poor record-keeping and reporting of statistics, coupled with resistance to public disclosure."

One has to realize that Sheriff Carter has no business experience or an undergraduate degree in business or for that matter in any disipline. The elected office of Sheriff is the only remaining professional office by viture of the election process that educational requirements don't have to be met. A high school diploma is all that is required to be Sheriff, so Sheriff Carter bases his professionalism on limited education with political clout. I'm wondering how many businesses would pay him over a hundred grand a year to operate their business? The dynamics have changed over the years for better educated professionals. He wouldn't be hired by any state or federal law enforcement agency with his education.

TheNeedle 2 years, 11 months ago

Fact is, SCC, while Sheriff Joe's going on talk shows and impressing the rubes (like you) with tough talk and publicity stunts, he's failing at his core mission as a law enforcement officer by every metric that counts.

Toda: while I'm not here to defend Sheriff Carter, are you seriously contending a business degree should be a requirement for being Sheriff? Good luck with that.

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

TheNeedle => I guess it's all a matter of observation and one's opinion based on those observations. Rube ~ that's better than ignorant! I have a totally different perspective on how criminals should be treated while incarcerated. Voices are not being considered in the overall scheme of the detention center movement. Really doesn't make any difference what anyone thinks about the out-of-control spending in Carthage.

Just wait until next year when MCBC re-evaluates property to cover the expense of all of the money they are spending. Appeal? That's another joke. Just like the task force made up of county employees - I wonder how long they would be gainfully employed should they voice opposition.

Your reply to Toda: ever wonder who prepares Carters' budget. I don't think accounting principles were incorporated into high school curriculims'. Interesting enough he doesn't even have a degree in Criminal Justice.... Go figure!

TheNeedle 2 years, 11 months ago

" I guess it's all a matter of observation and one's opinion based on those observations."

You tell yourself that if it makes you feel better about your hero worship of a self-promoting, self-aggrandizing charlatan who's not truly protecting the people under his charge.

But the numbers don't lie. Violent crime's gone up under Arpaio. Emergency response times have gotten longer. Facts, not opinions. You're certainly not a very good advertisement for the educational quality of your school if you can't tell the difference.

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

TheNeedle =>ad-libbing! No hero worship here, just stating "facts". Perhaps you should send him an email and let him and those who voted him into office know that he's not doing his job well. He has served as Sheriff for the past 18 years averaging 55.2% of the vote. Just some facts about a real Sheriff:

Following his honorable discharge from the army in 1954, Arpaio moved to Washington, D.C. and became a police officer, moving in 1957 to Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as a police officer in Las Vegas for six months before being appointed as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later became part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). During his 25-year tenure with the DEA, he was stationed in both Turkey and Mexico, and advanced through the ranks to the position of head of the DEA's Arizona branch.

In 1992, Arpaio successfully campaigned for the office of Maricopa County Sheriff. The citizens of Maricopa County re-elected him in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

" Emergency response times have gotten longer. Facts, not opinions." Arrests by Sheriff’s deputies of persons transporting or being transported illegally into Arizona: 2,066. Quite a Hispanic population I might add; with more coming everyday.

Opinions are liken to rectums: everyone has one. Condescending remarks about my education is naive on your part. You are starting to sound like Dusty Rhodes.

dustyrhoades 2 years, 11 months ago

Whatever you're studying at SCC, Bubba, it sure ain't spelling.

SCCstudent 2 years, 11 months ago

Ain't ~ great english DipStick.

Comments No Longer Accepted