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Juvenile hall may go back to voters By CHRIS BRISTOL It's like deja vu all over again. Convinced that a growing metropolis like Medford must replace its worn-out and puny juvenile detention center sooner than later, Jackson County commissioners plan to resubmit a scaled-back version of the same bond issue that voters narrowly defeated last year. At a reduced cost of $15.6 million, the proposed facility would have 40 detention beds -- double the existing lockup but 20 fewer than the 1998 proposal. Juvenile Services Director Alan Young summed it up at the commission meeting Wednesday. "It's essentially the same project with fewer detention beds," he said. It would also cost almost $7 million less than the 1998 price tag of $22.5 million. Other features remain the same: 16 shelter beds and space for offices, classrooms and treatment programs. The site would be near the county justice building off 10th Street. Saying a new lockup is the county's No. 1 capital priority, the commissioners are so determined to see the project through that debate Wednesday centered not on whether to seek voter approval but when. Timing matters because of the double-majority rule, which requires a 50 percent turnout of all registered voters for money measures to have any chance at passing. Only last month, RVTD won but lost an election because of insufficient returns. After more than an hour of debate Wednesday, commissioners eventually ruled out paying $60,000 for a special election in September and decided to wait at least until the more traditional November ballot. The bond issue would be the only measure on the ballot in September, but commissioners said they feared an apathetic turnout or even a backlash. On the other hand, November has its own problems. Commissioner Jack Walker expressed concern that anticipated statewide measures from the Legislature could mean the bond issue won't merit enough attention. "Voters might get negative," he said, "and just say no across the board." The double-majority rule -- set aside only for general elections in even-numbered years -- will be in effect in November just as it would in September. Regardless of the date, commissioners hope the bond issue goes better than November '98, when 50.5 percent said no. The scaled-back 40-bed proposal calls for the same amount of floor space -- 67,000 square feet -- as last year. Jail cells are expensive to build, and costs were cut by dropping plans for one of three detention blocks and replacing it with office space. Officials hope the design will allow for efficient conversion down the road. Savings were also achieved with acquisition of parking lots from the sale of county property -- including a $400,000 down payment on the sale of the existing lockup in the heart of the South Gateway shopping area. Built when Eisenhower was president and the county had a population of 68,000, the aging 20-bed lockup has been derided for years by local officials as no more than a "dog kennel" for delinquents. Today the county has a population of nearly 170,000. Said Young, "The current facility is a disgrace." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA