Eau Claire – A Great Place to Spend Time

9 February 2008

Dear City of Eau Claire Council Member,

Please take a firm stand against the expansion of the county jail complex onto First Avenue along the Chippewa River. Why this project even remains a possibility is a mystery to me. This county imposition on our city is an insult to our community and runs counter to the very goals toward which much of the Eau Claire community has been working, including efforts of Downtown Eau Claire, Inc., UWEC Strategic Planning, Eau Claire Redevelopment Authority, Eau Claire’s Historic Preservation Foundation, Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Commission and others. For numerous social, economic and environmental reasons, the proposal must be quashed immediately.

The City is, and should be, proud of its recent accomplishments and efforts along the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers. These include Phoenix Park and the Farmer’s Market, the multiple bike/pedestrian bridges, the ongoing redevelopment of the tire factory, the Chippewa River State Trail connecting the Old Abe with the Red Cedar Trails, the possible purchase of riverfront property around Oxford Avenue, the North Barstow Redevelopment project, and so on. Having a three or four-story monstrosity placed at the center of all this positive improvement is incongruous and will be with us for decades.

To place a jail in such a prominent place, in the heart of our community, at a hub of state recreational trails, will make it a defining feature of our city and part of our identity. What are people to think of such an overwhelming structure on the landscape from across the river, from the Lake Street Bridge, while fishing or floating the Chippewa River, while biking down the State Trail? Forget UWEC as the most beautiful UW campus, Eau Claire will be known as that city with the new jail downtown. Great for La Crosse, rotten for us. And the possibilities for new city mottos and logos will be endless – “Eau Claire: Wisconsin’s most beautiful place to do time;” images of fishermen in black and white striped waders; signs along the Chippewa River warning canoeists not to pick up hitchhikers. You get the picture.

Compounding the disgrace of having a modern jail as the cornerstone of a revitalized downtown Eau Claire is having to pay for it. The cost of the jail has been disingenuously underestimated at $59.1 million. (Is it true that projects of $60 million or more require a supermajority to get county board approval but those less than that don’t?) No such project gets done without significant cost over runs. Other reasonable estimates of the project bring the cost of the jail closer to $100 million or more. If one includes the expenses related to hiring additional staff to operate the new jail over the next 15 years, the total bill begins to approach $200 million. City residents, who make up 67% of the county’s population, will have to pay for most of it. By some estimates, this comes to over $2500 per person. Why are we willing to do this when we cannot even raise a comparative pittance of that amount for our city’s schools and teachers? Shame on us! It does not take a creative policy genius to imagine what impact $200 million or $59.1 million or a fraction of that, spent in the county and city on education, community development, small business enterprises, opportunities for youth, social programs, riverfront enhancement, etc. would do for improving our city, maybe even reducing our need for an expanded jail.

On top of actual costs, the opportunity costs of placing the jail on the riverfront will further detract from the city’s coffers. Will county facilities pay taxes as residential or commercial properties do? Moreover, if it is true that the county intends to house prisoners from other jurisdictions to generate revenue, such income will go to the county. Should the City be so generous with taxpayer resources when we have our own serious financial needs?
This is not to say we may not need to work on our correctional facilities. I value and greatly appreciate the role of local law enforcement, and if there truly is a need for a new jail it should be done in a manner consistent with actual needs of community, law enforcement, prisoners and city-wide goals and planning. A downtown riverfront is not the place. Our riverfront is prime for redevelopment that meets the needs, desires, dreams for, and pride in, our community.

The alternatives for First Avenue are exciting. The city could find architectural possibilities from pictures of Eau Claire in local archives, small businesses could make the area a destination for walkers and bikers, and Eau Claire could be integrated across the Chippewa River. Instead of a jail on its tourism and promotional materials, the city could promote its extraordinary number of pedestrian and bike bridges. We have six such bridges in our small city, with at least one other in the plans. This integration between environment, residence and business would be the envy of other cities our size. We want people to come to Eau Claire because they want to, not because they have to.

Demonstrate your care for the City of Eau Claire, its people and environment, by putting an immediate stop to discussions that entertain a jail on our precious waterfront asset. It is a waste of resources, energy and time and seems to have already involved sneaky and behind the scenes shenanigans – no two explanations of what is going on are consistent. (For example, the map of the proposed jail and its parking lots as posted on the County’s website is different from the architects’ drawing provided for the February issue of The Progressive Outpost). Our community expects you to work productively with the County toward meeting all of our needs, but not to roll over for them. In the long run, Eau Claire County will thank you for it.

Thank you for your efforts on this issue specifically and for your work on the City Council more generally. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue, and would enjoy the opportunity to discuss them with you in person.

Respectfully,
Paul Kaldjian
East Side Hill