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<br />April 18, 2005 (Regular Meeting) <br /> <br />Page 139 <br /> <br />Sandy Mansur of the Hummingbird Ridge Subdivision was <br />locating a temporary jail at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, <br />would jeopardize the County's substantial financial investment <br />future bookings at the Arena. She asked that a committee be <br />evaluate alternative options and for the Board to find a solution <br />not impact the financial viability of the Cabarrus Arena and Events <br /> <br />opposed to <br />stating it <br />and deter <br />formed to <br />that would <br />Center. <br /> <br />Carolyn Hendrix of Hess Road in Concord asked the Board to postpone its <br />decision on the location of the temporary jail. She stated locating the <br />facility at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center would decrease surrounding <br />property values, be detrimental to the purpose of the Arena and create safety <br />issues for children and the elderly in the event of an escape. Further, she <br />was concerned that once the temporary jail is built, it may become a <br />permanent fixture. She also expressed concern that no public hearings were <br />held concerning the location of the temporary jail. <br /> <br />Dr. Darrell Huneycutt of Pressley Downs Drive in Concord was opposed to <br />locating the auxiliary jail near his neighborhood and stated the County was <br />not being pressured to build a second jail facility. Further, he objected to <br />paying additional taxes and encouraged the Board to find a better solution. <br /> <br />June Allman of Ward Avenue in Concord presented a petition objecting to <br />locating the temporary jail at the Arena. The petition addressed the <br />following issues: Proximity of residential homes; Negative impact on small <br />businesses and events at the Arena; Increased traffic on the two-lane Old <br />Airport Roadj Abuse of a pristine area visited by tourists; and Decrease in <br />property values as well as halting the sale of new homes and developments. <br />She asked the Board to consider what the citizens want, the impact on the <br />Arena and how Board members will be affected at election time. <br /> <br />Chairman <br />the temporary <br />consideration <br />unanimously to <br />at the Arena. <br /> <br />Carpenter explained that there would not be another vote on <br />jail until the construction bids are brought forward for <br />by the Board. She stated the Board had previously voted <br />proceed with receiving bids for the facility to be constructed <br /> <br />Britt Byrd of the Oldenburg subdivision in Mt. Pleasant spoke in <br />support of the temporary jail, stating the jail would be maximum security and <br />only house low-risk inmates. Further, he encouraged Board members to listen <br />to and trust the County's law enforcement personnel. <br /> <br />Tammy Young of Ward Avenue in Concord suggested the temporary jail be <br />built on the same property as the new Justice Center as a way to save <br />taxpayer dollars. She stated she was uncomfortable with having the temporary <br />jail located in such close proximity to her neighborhood. <br /> <br />Marvin Bost of Mt. Pleasant reported the North Carolina State Fair has <br />used inmate labor to clean the State Fairgrounds property for a number of <br />years and has had no problems. He also stated his mother has safely lived <br />near the Department of Corrections in Mt. Pleasant for many years. Further, <br />he urged the Board to promptly address jail overcrowding. <br /> <br />Mark Troutman of Ward Avenue in Concord spoke in opposition to locating <br />the temporary jail at the Arena and Events Center. He stated building a <br />temporary jail made no sense and questioned the amount of money needed to <br />retrofit the building for use as a storage facility. <br /> <br />John Clark, Chairman of the Cabarrus County Democratic Party, reported <br />he had personally toured the current jail facilities and viewed the <br />overcrowding. He stated in his opinion house arrest and pretrial release <br />programs are not feasible and that the County would not have to build a <br />temporary jail if prior Boards had planned for the future. <br /> <br />Lori Lefebure of Red Bird Circle stated she was <br />overcrowded jail conditions, but was opposed to having the <br />located in her backyard. She said she would not feel secure <br />temporary jail site would be fenced-in. <br /> <br />aware of the <br />temporary jail <br />even though the <br /> <br />David McDonald, resident of Walker Road in Mt. Pleasant and owner of <br />McDonald's General Store on Highway 49, stated he was not in favor of having <br />the temporary jail located at the Arena and Events Center. He also encouraged <br />the Board to design the facility so it will not cost any more money during <br />construction. <br /> <br />Jerry Williamson of Marsh Avenue NW in Concord encouraged Board members <br />to stop talking about the jail and get one built. He also commented on the <br />