www.staugustine.com/stories/061707/news_4661543.shtml -
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Published on: 6/17/2007
Last Visited: 6/17/2007
HASTINGS -- St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said Saturday that he is "withdrawing support" for the construction of an inmate agricultural center off Cracker Swamp Road.
He spoke in the Hastings Elementary School cafeteria to 250 people who had turned out to oppose his earlier decision to build a work farm on the property.
"We didn't talk to neighbors.We didn't find out what the community wanted," he told the respectful crowd.
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Shoar foreshadowed his announcement by saying, "Everybody's going to leave this room happy."
Yet when he finally said he would not put the work farm on that site, the cafeteria erupted into cheers as if it were a surprise.
"If I thought this was an ethical or moral issue, I'd stand up here and let you throw tomatoes at me, because I won't back off on an ethical or moral issue," Shoar said."But this is a business decision, and business decisions are flexible."
Shoar said his goals were to save the county money -- a work farm inmate costs $22 to house; a jail inmate costs $82, he said, adding he also wanted to "maximize county facilities" and give some St. Johns County inmates a second chance by learning a trade.
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Shoar said the work farm wouldn't go there, but one needs to go somewhere in the county, or the jail will be over capacity by 2011.
He proposed that an ad hoc committee of eight to 12 county residents be formed to locate an acceptable site.Some county staffers would be part of the committee.
"We average over 500 inmates on a daily basis," he said."Inmates at that facility will be low-risk inmates, such as multiple DUI offenders, those convicted of not paying child support and other non-violent offenders."
He said inmates will acquire work skills and have a drug addiction program in the barracks area.The center would appear more like a college campus than a correctional facility, said Shoar.
Regarding the Cracker Swamp Road parcel, he said, "I am going to suggest that the Board of County Commissioners utilize the property for another use which will receive the support of area citizens."
The meeting was organized by Flagler Estates residents who put out flyers, signs and notices on Web sites.
They met June 2 on this issue, but Shoar was ill at the time and could not make it.
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Flagler Estates resident Scott Cooper said, "I'm glad (Shoar's) not going to do it.