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Residents, veterans urge pause on Yates County jail project over cost and transparency
Summary
Residents and veterans told the Yates County Legislature the planned jail is too large and costly and that the public has not seen an impartial needs assessment; they urged officials to halt further spending and hold more public sessions.
Allison Stewart, a resident, opened the public comment period by saying many county residents believe the proposed new jail is unnecessary and that the process has lacked openness. "This is not a jail for a small community or a small county; this is an industrial complex," Stewart said, and she asked for details about "the approved approximately $3 million" that she said had been allocated to date.
Several other residents reinforced Stewart's concerns. Jack Ossent, who said he once served on the Legislature, questioned why an ad hoc committee had been used when a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) established in 2019 exists to assess needs; he said CJCC membership selection appeared insufficiently independent. Gene Mitchell and John "Jack" Clancy called the project's projected bed counts and escalating cost estimates into doubt, noting recent reports that average daily population counts ranged from roughly four (state) to about 10 (county) inmates and pointing out that many current beds are used for federal-boarded prisoners.
The speakers urged the Legislature to stop additional expenditures—one commenter said $422,000 had already been spent—and to provide a public, unbiased needs assessment, citing alternatives such as probation and diversion programs that they said have reduced local demand for jail beds. The public speakers also asked for clearer accounting of prior contract spending and more frequent, countywide informational sessions so residents can judge the project's scope and necessity.
