Instead of asking tax payers to pony up $400 million for a jail we really don't need to spend $400 million on, and instead of lining the pockets of Sheriff Whetsel and his "public safety" cronies--why don't we just use Crossroads Mall instead?
I mean, it's practically the best location I've ever seen for a jail. Isolated from the rest of the city and cut off by a highway interchange, with a landfill towering over it, and the city's best collection of strip joints just a jailbreak away--it's the world's most perfect site for a new county jail. It's also conveniently located near a very high-crime part of the southside and has limited ingress/egress that could easily be watched--and of course, you would encircle it with a great wall.
That kills three birds with one stone. That way people can stop talking about how to revive Crossroads, we don't have to spend public resources to bulldoze it, and we have a new solution for the county jail.
What's the asking price anyway? Probably under $5 million, just a guess. So 1/80th of the cost to build Sheriff Whetsel's dream prison.
4 comments:
It's surrounded by still healthy retailers, hotels and is at the "crossroads" of two interstates. Bad idea.
- Steve
Pay Steve no mind, you wily wascal. Thumbs up for creative thinking and using resources for the highest and best purpose!
"Still healthy retailers" -- Steve, you know that Best Buy and Toys R Us are both looking to move further west on 240? Beyond that I have no idea what other retailers are still there. AMC needs to move somewhere too. Maybe Texas Roadhouse? Victory Gymnastics? It's like a 1/50th shell of its former self..
The old Best Buy and Toys R Us pad sites can be turned into check-in stations and guard towers for the new prison compound.
I like Doug's thinking!
The Feds, who acquired the mall as a "toxic" asset, are almost certainly going to insist on $20 million or more.
Which is still a tiny fraction of what we'd spend on Castle Whetsel.
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