Johnson County may consider new jail site

Johnson County may study whether the Iowa City Press-Citizen building is a good spot to put a new jail.

A slim majority of the county's supervisors indicated Thursday that they support paying for a study comparing the Press-Citizen site to a long-preferred downtown location.

The supervisors discussed the issue in a work session, so no vote was taken. But Pat Harney, Larry Meyers and Sally Stutsman said they supported the idea. Terrence Neuzil and Rod Sullivan were opposed.

A vote will come at a future meeting, possibly next week.

The study would cost an estimated $15,000, officials said. It would compare space at the Press-Citizen building, 1725 N. Dodge St., with plans the county already has for a joint justice center.

The supervisors had previously agreed that a justice center, with a jail and court space, across from the current courthouse was the best plan. But then the Press-Citizen building went up for sale earlier this year, and a quick evaluation found it could easily be adapted into a jail.

It has been suggested that a split facility may be several million dollars cheaper than the $61 million a consultant said it would cost to build a justice center south of the existing courthouse, 417 S. Clinton St. But what exactly the savings may be is not known.

The supervisors supporting the study said they owed it to taxpayers to consider all options, although they and other county officials said they believe a joint justice center downtown was the best choice. Neuzil and Sullivan said the board had long ago agreed the downtown idea was best and the county should move forward with planning on that.