For residents of North Albany, the property selected for a proposed Benton County justice center has one advantage over the other sites that have now been rejected.
On a bike ride Thursday afternoon I looked west toward the Coffin Butte Landfill from Oak Grove Drive in North Albany. Whatever happened to the controversial proposal to expand the landfill and cover up Coffin Butte Road, which the county’s planning commission denied on Dec. 7?
Imagine the predicament of the Benton County Board of Commissioners. They’re faced with deciding what to with the historic county courthouse, a lovely landmark that is much admired. But it is also unsafe in an earthquake and would cost an arm and a leg to shore up.
Benton County officials want to build a new jail because the old one is potentially dangerous and hopelessly outdated. Now they’re trying to gauge what voters will accept. To that end the county invited the public to an informal “outreach” session Thursday, and about three dozen people showed up.
Expenses mount in Benton’s big plans
Seven years after their last attempt to win voter approval for a new jail, Benton County officials are assembling a more ambitious and much more expensive expansion project for which property taxpayers eventually will get the bill — if it is carried out.
Tags: Benton commissioners, Benton County, Benton courthouse, Benton jail, Benton sheriff, jail expansion