Some still skeptical of revised courthouse plan

The vocal Johnson County majority that rallied against two previous bond issues for courthouse expansion and jail construction understand the proposal before voters this November does not include a new jail, but aren't convinced their previous concerns have been addressed or that a new jail is far behind.

The group Free Johnson County is spearheaded by 24-year-old Sean Curtin, who previously served as a field director in the successful opposition to the 2012 and 2013 bond issues. He's a native of Iowa City, says he loves the community and that many believe their concerns of justice inequality have gone unanswered.

'They've taken a set of issues surrounding the courthouse and have packaged them to create the impression of an incredible need,” Curtin said of the triplet call for safety, security and space in relation to the upcoming courthouse annex bond issue.

'We've been told there's a need for more space, but we don't see the county asking for a more modest amount to build a storage facility or office space. We're told there are major security and safety issues, but we've seen the sheriff's security desk unattended. They say they need a wheelchair ramp - and I believe they do - but they don't proceed with building a wheelchair ramp.”

Instead of individually addressing issues, he said, officials have allowed them to stack up.

Curtin contends the current backlog of court cases in Johnson County and, ultimately, much of the pressure being placed on the existing courthouse and jail could be resolved if county officials would seriously consider justice reforms.

Specifically, the Free Johnson County group would like officials to:

' End the 'failed war” on marijuana use and possession.

' Provide medical, not punitive, resolution of certain crimes like public intoxication.

' Stop treating the attributes of poverty as crimes.

' Better address racial disparity issues within the justice system.

'These are the things communicated to the county following the other failed votes,” he said.

Looking at the proposed annex schematics distributed by Johnson County officials, Curtin taps tiny print on the right-hand side of the first (bottom) level blueprint that reads, 'Future Jail Connection.” He questions the intent of officials when some have publicly referred to the annex bond as 'phase one” of an expansion of county facilities.

Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said architects were instructed to build the annex with an eye to the future. Providing a secure pathway for detained defendants to enter the facility and be held while awaiting trail, he said, was definitely part of that process.

'I don't think any of us are operating under the illusion that the courthouse annex is going to fully alleviate the strain on the county jail,” Neuzil said. 'The jail issue doesn't go away and, if there is going to be a jail several years down the road, we wanted to be able to connect it without breaking down walls.”

No jail is included in the November proposal, he stressed, but county officials are anticipating that 'at some point in time” voters will want a new jail facility. Many Johnson County Jail inmates are housed in neighboring facilities, all at significant cost to the county and its taxpayers.

Curtin acknowledges, in terms of progressive justice system incarceration alternatives like diversion programs, Johnson County is doing better than the state and the nation. But he also believes being at the top of that particular pile, which continues to grapple with disparity and discrimination, isn't good enough.

'America has the worst incarceration rate in the world, and Johnson County is a bit better than that,” Curtin said. 'We are worse than Russia and China and all these other places around the globe. But Johnson County is better than that. And that's why we're going to continue along this failed path? That's absolutely ridiculous.”

Issues of security would be better resolved, he said, by hiring county deputies and assigning them to the courthouse.

'When you create a checkpoint and rely too heavily on mechanical scrutiny, you are creating a false sense of security,” Curtin countered. 'It leaves other places inside and outside of the building more vulnerable. Give trained professionals good jobs and allow them to apply their craft.”

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