Ringgold County Votes for New Jail, 2007

SOBOTKA

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 5/8/2009 at 16:57:27

Monday, January 22, 2007

RINGGOLD COUNTY TO VOTE ON SALES TAX FOR NEW JAIL

by Mark SAYLOR, KSIB, Creston, Union County, Iowa

Voters in a small southwest Iowa county go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to impose a one-cent local sales tax to finance construction of a new jail. Ringgold County Sheriff Mike SOBOTKA says the two men who preceded him as sheriff started the push for a new jail.

The current jail, which is on the fourth floor of the Ringgold County Courthouse in Mount Ayr, was built in 1927 - but the iron in it came from the original Ringgold County Jail which was built in 1895. That means the bars on the cells are over one-hundred years old. The old jail can house six prisoners.

The sheriff backs construction of a new, single-story jail that can house up to 22 prisoners at a time. The sheriff's office will stay in the Ringgold County Courthouse, as Sheriff SOBOTKA says he and the deputies help provide security in the courthouse. "The other thing is the local option sales tax would not produce enough revenue to build a law enforcement center," SOBOTKA says. "It will only produce enough revenue to build this facility that we're proposing." The new jail is projected to cost two-and-a-half million dollars.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

RINGGOLD COUNTY VOTERS APPROVE NEW JAIL

by Mark SAYLOR, KSIB, Creston, Union County, Iowa

Voters in a southwest Iowa county have overwhelmingly approved a county-wide sales tax that will finance construction of a new jail. The final tally shows almost 75 percent of the Ringgold County residents who voted to impose the extra penny of sales tax on purchases made in their county. Ringgold County Sheriff Mike SOBOTKA says the start of construction depends on how quickly land can be purchased for the new jail.

"If all goes well, probably by mid- to late spring we could be looking at [taking] bids for the project and then in the early part of the summer begin the construction phase," he says. The single-story jail would house up to 15 prisoners. The cost of construction, including the purchase of land, is pegged at two-and-a-half million dollars. The current Ringgold County Jail is on the fourth floor of the county courthouse. It can house six inmates - behind cell bars that were forged in 1895.

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