Build jail without delay

In the response to the (Aug. 28) letter to the editor concerning facts about the emotional cost of delaying the jail, the responder ("Citizens should verify the facts, costs of jail," Sept. 11) implies that any legal action on the part of voters is not only legal but a responsibility. There is some truth in the respondent's statements, but it is also legal to sue a neighbor over a barking dog although it may not be cost-effective.

The responder questioned several facts as if a number is a number is a number. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone familiar with economics knows that a 20-year pile of rent receipts has a very different value than the equity of several million dollars in an asset.

Those who came to the fact and information-sharing sessions on the jail proposal heard that the land purchased several years ago in the downtown area is limited to a 96-bed jail. The presentation included the fact that the State Jail Commission recommends Lampasas build a 144-bed jail due to forecasted growth in the prisoner population. A 96-bed jail would be full within a few months of opening with no room to expand on that same property. Then we would have to do this all again at even great costs.

Additionally, the land downtown can and will be sold for more than the county paid for it. Both the city of Lampasas and Windsor Foods have openly stated they will not sell their part of the land or vacate any part of it for county use, therefore it is a moot point.

The newly purchased site has room for expansion for the foreseeable future. The Jail Committee wisely negotiated the purchase of the 12-acre site without local fanfare, otherwise it would have cost a minimum of $600,000 as it was listed, rather than at the bargain price of $525,000 for which it was purchased. If word is circulated about purchasing anything like a jail site, land prices would soar out of sight. That is basic common sense.

It is hard to understand the logic of private citizens who vote to elect officials, who are learned and honorable individuals, and then feel the officials need to ask their permission for every little decision. Many of these same individuals will not run for public office or serve on county boards but still want to micromanage all that goes on.

The respondent refers to $325,000 per year to house prisoners out of county for 60 years. Again, those who came to the fact-sharing sessions -- and listened -- heard that the cost to house prisoners out of county has doubled in the last three years and is expected to continually grow with the increasing population of the county. Based on that fact, the payoff of the note would occur in a much shorter period of time. Without building the jail here, the Lampasas taxpayer would be left with a huge pile of rent receipts and still face a continually increasing monthly cash outlay.

Money that leaves the county is gone, never to return or recirculate within the county. Investments made within the county continually recirculate in the form of goods purchased, tax revenue and Lampasas County assets. Dollars spent locally will recirculate three to five times within the local area.

The respondent claimed that the cost to house prisoners out of county will just shift from one budget column to another if we build the jail here. This is partially true, but not as it is claimed. The shift is really a shift from the revenue stream of some other county to the Lampasas County revenue stream. We are currently making payments on jails in several other counties and have nothing to show for it other than rent receipts.

The Jail Committee has done an excellent job of putting a plan together to move this issue forward with foresight and in the best interest of the local taxpayers. They have done extensive research and tried desperately to make wise decisions and share factual information with all concerned. Yes, they have made some procedural errors; they are human. Forgiveness and working together is not a bad thing.

It is sad that a few professed conservatives want to be Monday-morning quarterbacks and second-guess the decisions of those trying their best to serve the interests of the Lampasas County taxpayers over some minor perceived procedural errors. The emotional Monday-morning quarterbacking has, in fact, cost us as taxpayers a great deal of money and will continually add to the pile of rent receipts rather than build assets and recirculated revenue within our county. These people are not conservative; they are simple "aginners," against any form of progress.

I agree with the original statement that it is obvious, based on real facts, that we need to move forward with building the jail. I urge my fellow citizens to look at the real facts with real value in mind and support the effort to build the jail now without further delay. We need to act on real value and real facts rather than emotion and perceived empowerment.

G.J. Anderson