Amador County – The Jackson City Council last week discussed a County request to enact a jail fee, and directed staff to gather further information and check the opinion of the other four cities in Amador County.
City Manager Mike Daly said the county’s current jail is being impacted by population issues, and the county has completed a 40-year jail planning process for a new jail that it has been working on for a number of years. The old nexus was written for a property the County sought for purchase in Martell, from SPI. The county since then purchased a different, 200-acre property in Martell, the site of the now defunct Wicklow Way Subdivision project.
Daly said the new nexus must justify the jail size against the number of homes expected to be built over the next 40 years. This nexus is different because it is for a one-time project, which is not out of the ordinary. He said the county is looking for each of the five cities in Amador County to adopt and begin to collect the fees for a new jail.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked if the city can adopt the fee for a certain term, maybe “buy in for a year.” It also has commercial and residential, and he wondered if they could adopt parts of the fees. City Attorney Andrew Morris said yes, they could adopt any part of the fee plan, and they could have a sunset.
Garibaldi asked about state and federal funding for jail construction and also services. Amador County General Services Director John Hopkins said Amador County has an opportunity for $22.7 million in state funding through AB900 for the new jail: “This isn’t for services, this is for the brick and mortar to construct a jail.” He said the date will close soon on the AB900 funding “if we do not get the match,” and “I don’t think that will happen.” He said the fees would go toward the match.
Hopkins said “the County has developed a nexus study that covers the entire county,” and also considerably lowered jail impact fees. He said all of the cities have been presented with information and city managers Sean Rabe in Sutter Creek, and Jeff Gardner in Plymouth are familiar with it.
Garibaldi asked if it matters where inmates reside. Hopkins said it did not.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
