Residents in Monroe have started a petition at Change.org signifying their opposition to a proposal to put a Public Safety Complex, which would include a new Walton County jail, on property to be purchased by the Walton County government.
The Walton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the purchase at last week’s BOC meeting and made it known that plans for the property were for the Public Safety Complex, including the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Administrative offices and the jail as well as EMS support. The property, at 1125 E Church Street, would be convenient to the Government Buildings on Hammond Street, making for ease of transfer of prisoners to the courts without requiring road transportation. However, it also would place the jail in a residential area that includes homes, two children’s parks, three schools and a college, all within walking distance.
The property is in the Monroe city limits and there is mixed support among Monroe City Council members for the proposal. While some believe it is better to have people in need of incarceration in a facility than out on the streets and that the current jail is inadequate to cope with those requirements and there are others who while they agree with that, they don’t believe the proposed located is the right place for it.
At the time of publication, more than 200 people had signed the petition.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.