NEW SITE

This is the new website for Eau Claire Jail information:

http://www.eauclairejail.com/

This blogger site will decompose shortly...

back and forth...

This article, from the Leader Telegram, reveals the wide margin of error that County staff are operating with in predicting costs for this project. Please probe and reveal more, local media!

Eau Claire County jail job numbers change again

By Andrew Dowd

Leader-Telegram staff

Flak from Eau Claire County Board members and the public prompted Sheriff's Department leaders to cut the staffing request for additional employees to run the new jail. After presenting a 37.5 full-time equivalency request last week in committee meetings, Sheriff Ron Cramer and Jail Administrator Dan Bresina said they cut that number to 20 by Tuesday night's County Board meeting. "We're down to 20 this evening," Cramer said. After an erroneous request for 19 employees had been made, followed by the 37.5 figure, board member Pat LaVelle said he's worried the Sheriff's Department will ask for even more staff after opening the new jail in April 2010. "I'd like to see it at 20, but I'm afraid it's gonna go higher," LaVelle said. Board member Ken Fulgione razzed county staff for proceeding with a multimillion dollar construction project without a firm budget on the day-to-day costs to operate the new facility. "I am totally astounded that this continues to go on," he said. Staffing costs weren't the only jail issue County Board members railed on Tuesday night. The county incurred $5,000 in added costs for delays in closing the purchase of a property bought for the new jail. "Basically it's a penalty for not closing it on a timely basis," county attorney Keith Zehms said. The County Board approved purchase of Gerald Mattson's house at 741 Second Ave. for $148,000 plus $25,000 in relocation expenses at its June 17 meeting, but the deal didn't close until Tuesday morning. County Board member Will Fantle asked why the county was delayed in its purchase. Project manager Frank Draxler said there were multiple people working on the deal with Mattson, and he didn't know why closing did not meet the deadline. "I don't have the full story," he said. However, he added that it would be brought to the Administration Committee next week. In his status report to the board on the new jail and courthouse remodeling project, Draxler said it still is coming in at the approved price and timeline. "We are still on budget; we're within the $59.1 million," he said. If the county can secure rezoning for the jail from the Eau Claire City Council in August and construction begins in mid-October, Draxler said, the budget should hold despite increases in building materials costs. Dowd can be reached at 833-9204, 800-236-7077 or andrew.dowd@ecpc.com. - The request for 20 additional positions for the new Eau Claire County Jail will go to the Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee next week before proceeding to other committees and then the County Board.

Easy, Important Action: Letter Writing

Hey jail-alternative proponents!

Here are some example letters you can send to your city council members. It is best to
edit them a little, or write something completely from scratch or by using the issue
list below, but any letter is better than no letter - The city council needs our
help to act, and that starts with the number of letters they receive.  A paper copy
is much better than an email. Both 'at large' city council members, and your
ward/district representatives need to hear from you. If you can hand write a letter,
it's even better.

We are also at various events encouraging people to sign these letters.  Consider
coming this Thursday at Phoenix Park 6PM for the concert series, we will have a tent
setup with info to hand out.

Here's that link for letters once again!

slow news day

Hmmm...

From WEAU.com:

New Jail Brings Jobs

Nearly two dozen new jobs will be coming to the area once the new Eau Claire County Jail is built.

Sheriff Ron Cramer says the Law Enforcement Committee approved 19 new correctional officer positions for the jail opening in 2010.

And Cramer says it benefits more than just the jail, since promotions could be made from the jail to put more deputies on the road.

He says the approval will go to the Personnel Committee, which will start recruiting workers next year. end story

County Struggling to gain Momentum

This TV piece makes it clear how hard the County is struggling to maintain an image that the Jail project is moving forward. This is NOT news, this is speculation. Instead of talking to citizens in EC County or nearly half the County Board members that present very clear alternatives to the downtown jail project, or further investigate the recent announcement that it's likely to cost millions more than even a few months ago, this is what we get. When will they stop wasting our money on this failed project and take the high road?

The jail doesn't need to be downtown for the Sheriffs and Police to communicate efficiently. The jail doesn't need to be downtown for detectives to get more room. And the main word in the headline that still reveals the precarious nature of the downtown jail: could (not will!).

From WEAU.com:

Local Law Enforcement Could Soon Share a Space

Plans to expand and remodel the Eau Claire County jail and courthouse could have a big impact on two local law enforcement agencies. In fact, the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department could eventually share the same space.

Sheriff Ron Cramer says the two department have been talking about sharing spaces since the county started planning big changes to the current courthouse. He says moving-in together would help make day-to-day operations more efficient.

"Communication is so much a part of what we do in our job day-to-day with the public and with other law enforcement agencies,” Sheriff Cramer said. “So, I think that communication will be enhanced."

"Anytime you're sitting side-by-side it's just going to facilitate increased communication,” added Police Chief, Jerry Matysik.

But, the collaboration could mean even more to the Police Department. That’s because Chief Matysik says his staff has been dealing with a space-crunch for quite some time.

"Our detectives are really kind of packed in like sardines back there,” Chief Matysik said. “We don't have proper facilities to do very many interviews at one time."

If this shared spaces plan doesn’t work out, he says the Police Department will have to move somewhere else.

"That would be detrimental to us here at the Sheriff's Department, because we share a lot of information back and forth,” Cramer said.

Sheriff Cramer says combining the two departments also saves the county $2 million on the courthouse project.

He says it would also make this one of the first areas in the state where the Police and Sheriff’s Departments work within the same area.

One Root of the Problem

From TV-18:

New Study Highlights Eau Claire's Tough Justice System

Eau Claire’s chief of police reacts to a new study that shows the county has one of the toughest justice systems in the state.

The study, conducted by the National Institute of Corrections, says more people are arrested and sent through the court system in Eau Claire than in other parts of Wisconsin. Jerry Matysik, Eau Claire Chief of Police, says more crimes are reported in Eau Claire than in some of the other counties it was compared to, and so, naturally, more arrests take place.

Matysik does acknowledge, however, there are some things that can be done to ease the burden on the county’s justice system, which some experts say is operating beyond capacity.

“We can perhaps take some of the more minor offenses and instead of charging them as crimes, look at city ordinance citations, perhaps, that might reduce some of the stress on the system,” says Matysik.

Some of those minor offenses could include disorderly conduct, minor drug possession, and minor shoplifting.

Last week, Chief Matysik shared his ideas with other agencies within the county’s justice system. He says it is too early to know when any changes could take place.

Inflation Rates Raise Jail Cost

TV-18 Reports that every month the project is "delayed" it costs an extra 230,000 dollars. Wow. In just a few months that adds up to a MILLION DOLLARS because of poor planning.

Here's the story from their website:

Inflation Rates Could Impact Jail Project

Inflation could drive up the cost of the Eau Claire County Jail expansion project if it’s delayed.

Contractors say the rate of inflation for construction projects in this part of the country is double the national average. They say that’s due to supply and demand, in addition to increased fuel costs.

Contractors consider inflation when locking in prices for a project. However, when a project is delayed, inflation can have a major impact on additional costs.

“If you take a $10 million project, and you assume that five and a half percent is correct, it costs them about $46,000 every month that they don’t start the project,” explained Don Carlson, Vice President of Operations at Market and Johnson, the construction company that will be building the new jail.

With the current rate of inflation, Market and Johnson says the jail project could cost an extra $230,000 a month if it’s delayed. However, the company expects the rate of inflation to continue to rise, which would also increase the cost of any potential delays.

Index

Index of Jail Infomation

University Analysis of Jail Site

Visit this link to some great information compiled at UWEC.

"At the end of February, 2008, the Jail Division, National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Bureau of Prisons (NIC) released the Eau Claire County Local Justice System Assessment. The report was provided as technical assistance to the leadership of justice agencies and units of government operating the justice system within Eau Claire County, Wisconsin.

"Recommendations in the report include the need for improved public participation, better analysis of existing data, and use of UWEC expertise to analyze data. Our University, with its emphasis on faculty-student collaborative research, is ideally suited to make just such high value contributions to local environmental and social needs and issues, and many departments have already been involved in doing so.

"One example of the contribution UWEC can make to the jail issue is from Dr. Christina Hupy’s Advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) class, Spring 2008. In the class, geography major Beth Ellison created a series of maps that show the location of the currently proposed new jail in relation to NIC jail siting recommendations. See the maps here.

May Meetings

CAJE meeting TONIGHT!     

Monday May 5th at 7pm.

AT the  NEW LOCATION for our May meetings:

The Unitarian Church at 421 S. Farwell.  We will be meeting in the basement and the
assumption is that we enter on the side of the church.  A sign will be placed on the
entrance door with the name of our group.