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Voters get third look at bond County wants to build new juvenile center By Dani Dodge The Jackson County commissioners officially agreed Wednesday to ask voters in November for $16.5 million to build a new juvenile center. This is the third time county voters will decide the issue. "We have a significant problem in Jackson County and we need to give our kids a hand," said Commissioner Sue Kupillas. On Wednesday, a standing-room-only audience crammed the courthouse auditorium to voice support for the juvenile center. Two people, though, said they had concerns about the expense and the message. County commissioners and administrators said the time is right to pass the bond: It has popular support and the county will lose a federal matching grant of $4.1 million if the facility isn�t nearing completion by 2003. Juvenile bond facts Cost: $16.5 million, financed by a 10-year bond. Size: 50,400 square feet (the current center is 15,200) with space for 40 beds for offenders, 16 beds for kids who need safe shelter, and room for diversion programs. In 1998, 2,945 youths were arrested in Jackson County; 538 were admitted into the center for an average stay of 8.5 days. The average daily population at the center is 22; two juvenile offenders are released early every day to prevent overcrowding. The number of juvenile offenders has nearly tripled in 15 years. The county has twice tried to pass a bond to upgrade the county�s inadequate juvenile detention facility. In 1998, the measure lost by 1 percent of the vote. In a 1999 election that required at least a 50 percent turnout, the measure won by 60 percent, but only 41 percent of voters participated. A simple majority is all that�s necessary to pass the bond measure in this November�s election. The cost and proposal have not changed since 1999. The current facility, built in 1957, is in the South Gateway shopping center area. The new center would be built on the north side of 10th Street next to the Justice Building. It would have 40 beds for offenders and 16 beds for kids who aren�t accused of crimes but need shelter. It will have four classrooms and space for treatment and counseling programs. Passage of a $16.5 million bond would cost the owner of a $200,000 house $50 a year extra in property taxes. Commissioner Jack Walker said he hopes it won�t end up being that much. He said the county wants to put money from the sale of the South Gateway property toward reducing the debt. A $4.1 million federal matching grant would also lower the cost, he said One of the strongest arguments in favor of the bond measure came from a former juvenile offender. Daniel Waldron, 26, first went into the juvenile system as a 14-year-old when he drove illegally. When he was 16, he was convicted of check fraud. Working with the juvenile department and the Lithia Springs home for boys in Ashland changed his life. "I learned to deal with my anger and depression," he said. "They taught me the tools I need in society." The current prison-like atmosphere of the juvenile center is a detriment to the program, he said, making kids feel more like felons than children on the wrong path. County watchdog Walt Fitzgerald questioned whether the $16.5 million shouldn�t be spent in schools instead. He said he�s visited the center and while it is antiquated and crowded, there were beds available when he visited. "I don�t want to be known as the generation that built jails for our kids," Fitzgerald said. "I want to be known as the one that built schools." Jean Wollman said she�s questions whether the cost is justified by the number of juveniles involved. But the vast majority of those who spoke � people who work at the juvenile center, people who work with kids, business leaders, court-appointed special advocates and a judge � said a new juvenile center is critical. "This is something our community needs," said Theresia O�Grady, who works at the juvenile center. "We need to take care of our children." Kupillas said the cost of the facility is small compared to the cost of doing nothing. The current facility makes it impossible to help all the children who need help. A small percentage of kids will get involved in costly crimes. "There are children in our community that are a danger to themselves and the community," she said. "If your home has been burglarized, your car broken into, your kids afraid to get to school, then you�ve been impacted by this small percentage." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA