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Commissioners Approve Private Jail Project
McLennan County’s new jail will be privately financed, constructed and operated, after a vote Wednesday afternoon by a divided commissioners court.
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17 Comments 
(August 13, 2008)—McLennan County Commissioners picked up Wednesday where they left off after a heated meeting Tuesday and voted 3-2 to renew the county’s contract with Community Education Centers to operate the downtown county jail and to authorize the New Jersey-based company to finance, build and operate a new 871-bed county jail next to the existing facility on Highway 6.
County Judge Jim Lewis and Commissioners Ray Meadows and Wendall Crunk voted in favor of authorizing the privately constructed and operated facility.
Commissioners Lester Gibson and Joe Mashek voted against the proposal.
The vote Wednesday came after commissioners recessed a contentious meeting Tuesday rather than adjourning.
During the meeting Tuesday, Mashek questioned whether Lewis had given CEC an edge in competing for the project and said he was forwarding a report to the Texas Ethics Commission.
The county sent requests to 14 vendors around the country for plans to ease overcrowding in the county’s jail facilities, but in July, there was just one response and it was from CEC, which used to be known as CiviGenics.
CEC has leased the downtown facility since 1999, but because of overcrowding in the county-operated jail on Highway 6, the county has been paying the company to hold prisoners there, which cuts into the $1 million a year CEC pays for use of the facility.
Among CEC’s secure facilities are the Limestone County Detention Center and the Falls County Jail and Detention Center in Marlin.
County commissioners said earlier a privately constructed jail would help them avoid a bond election and a tax increase, but opponents of privatization had argued against turning jail operations over to for-profit companies.
"It's a public safety concern,” said Ken Witt, president of the McLennan County Sheriff’s Officers Association told commissioners last month.
County officials were considering four potential alternatives.
The first option involved having a private firm build and operate the new jail, but for the county to continue to run the Highway 6 and downtown jail facilities.
The second, which commissioners approved Wednesday, involves having a private firm build and operate the new jail and to operate the downtown jail.
The third involved having a private firm build and operate the new jail and to contract with a private firm to operate both the Highway 6 and downtown jails.
The fourth proposal involved a contract with a private firm to build the new jail and to take over operations for all of the county’s jail facilities.
Last week, commissioners voted to continue to operate the Highway 6 jail as a publicly run facility, assuaging the concerns of staffers who feared the loss of income and benefits.
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Latest Comments
I stand right behind you Concern Citizen and MSO employee!!! I know all too well what you are talking about. I spoke out about something and later was told be fired or resign! I am not the only one...there are several others this has happened to!! I think before he points a finger at ya'll and berates ya'll for bad PR ... he should remember he has 4 fingers pointing back at himself. Look through KWTX website for the raw video of Sheriff Lynch saying 'I don't care what condition the inmate was in' when the inmate escaped from work detail. His demeanor and attitude was caught on tape!!!! So he is like calling the kettle black as far as I am concerned. MSO Jail Staff: Keep up the good work and continue to fight for what ya'll believe in. GOD BLESS!
The action taken by the commissioners and Sheriff,should show you that our county government is corrupt. We that are employed by SO have known this for years. And before you ask why didn't we say something...we did. But who would listen to a no name. It's hard for people to come forward and speak out against a well known political fiqure. Especially when you know you will be retaliated against. On many occassions the Sheriff(whom couldn't find the comissioner's court on Tuesdays) will come to our 6:45 roll call and berate us for bad PR that makes the media. This man has berated,threaten and lied to us so much that if he were to say the sky is blue. Most of us would go outside to see for ourselves. I know many of you will ask why do we stay? 1.We need our jobs in order to provide for our families. 2.My co-workers will go above and beyond to help each other and we work very well together. Unfortunately, greed and self-interest has replaced honor and leadership.
dude: the DA is one of them. It would be an absolute waste of time and breath to vent our angers to him. We already see the writing on the wall with regards to what is not going to happen to Margaret Mills. What makes you think another dirty elected official matters to Mr. Segrest?
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