Interesting thoughts on the justice center and panhandling per the CRG
Every day I try to read the letters to the editor printed in the CRG. They vacillate wildly between open-minded and insular, entertaining and scary, and thoughtful and blissfully ignorant. Today’s paper featured this amusing and clever letter written by Iowa Citian John Bakas regarding Johnson County’s ongoing justice center debate.
When I read that I laughed out loud. It is the kind of creative solution I expect from Iowa Citians, though I am unsure how plausible it is since county officials are dead set on building a new jail adjacent to a renovated courthouse. Bakas’ proposal, though, seems convincing and pertinent from a financial standpoint, assuming his assumption is correct about the rent:
Again: great idea, but I have no clue how plausible it is. The current post office is located in the Federal Building and I am unsure how that would work and if there are any legal complications regarding county inmates being detained on federal property. (Also, the post office is renting space because it is not a federal agency.) But I think the idea of having a low-security option for non-violent offenders is a good idea and something Johnson County officials should consider. Regardless, it is letters like Bakas’ that bolstered my faith in the public forum that are newspaper opinion pages.
I do not read columns very much, but today I did read the one written by Froma Harrop since it seemed relevant to the local discussion about panhandling and new Ped Mall regulations. I think the best thing about the column is its reference to the Indianapolis Downtown Inc.’s panhandling guideline, which seems pretty sensible. Perhaps the Iowa City City Council and Iowa City’s Downtown Association should consider adopting something similar.
We have two problems and one solution. Our Iowa City jail wants to expand. Our nearby post office wants to shrink. Logic says: Rent post office space to the jail.
When I read that I laughed out loud. It is the kind of creative solution I expect from Iowa Citians, though I am unsure how plausible it is since county officials are dead set on building a new jail adjacent to a renovated courthouse. Bakas’ proposal, though, seems convincing and pertinent from a financial standpoint, assuming his assumption is correct about the rent:
Savings with a post office solution can be mind-boggling. Even at an obnoxiously high rent of $1,000 a day for this space, it would take 110 years to equal the $40 million supposed cost of a replacement jail. Counting interest on the borrowed money, a new jail building would take a lot longer than 110 years to break even.
Again: great idea, but I have no clue how plausible it is. The current post office is located in the Federal Building and I am unsure how that would work and if there are any legal complications regarding county inmates being detained on federal property. (Also, the post office is renting space because it is not a federal agency.) But I think the idea of having a low-security option for non-violent offenders is a good idea and something Johnson County officials should consider. Regardless, it is letters like Bakas’ that bolstered my faith in the public forum that are newspaper opinion pages.
I do not read columns very much, but today I did read the one written by Froma Harrop since it seemed relevant to the local discussion about panhandling and new Ped Mall regulations. I think the best thing about the column is its reference to the Indianapolis Downtown Inc.’s panhandling guideline, which seems pretty sensible. Perhaps the Iowa City City Council and Iowa City’s Downtown Association should consider adopting something similar.
