Is this a dangerous precedent for local governments? (Kenton County Jail Site)

[Sting]

Where could you put a jail or prison, power plant, sewage plant, etc in the county without some opposition? I think most people are really outraged that this was pushed through without much public input. I also think that many people are distrustful of Drees. How can you own so many businesses and properties in the county and make decisions that doesn't somehow affect that business or property in some way?

[doubledeuce]

The Kenton County politicians have nobody to blame but themselves for this mess. When they caved in to the pressure from Edgewood citizens and didn't put the jail at the base of Dudley on 3L they opened the door for every other location to be NIMBYed to death.

 

For what it's worth, I agree with the citizens of Independence that this site location was a cloak and dagger maneuver and not open to public discussion/review.

 

The ironic thing is the Boone County jail has a school around the corner from it (Stephens Elementary) and has an adjacent field used for children soccer games in the spring. I haven't heard of any incidents that have threatened public safety in Boone County.

 

Burlington Elementary is even closer than Stephens.

[leatherneck]

Personally I love the way Ralph handled it. He is a realist and knows that anytime you allow the public to get involved in these type of decisions, all it does is stir up a mess. He and the fiscal court members were elected to make decisions in the best interest of the county. If this is, in their opinion, where the jail belongs, then buy the property, build the jail and be done with it.

 

Ralph, God bless him, is a rare public official. He doesn't need the job, sure as heck doesn't need the money, doesn't care if you like his decisions or not; he's doing to make the tough decisions and move on. And if those not knowledgeable of Ralph, should ask why we should trust him to make those tough decisions properly, well I think his business and family accomplishments provide all the proof one should need. Ralph is an honest, hard working, smart business man who is extremely compassionate and cares a lot about his community.

 

The people who complain about Ralph the most are the political hack types, whom Ralph doesn't tolerate all too well. At times, he bites his tongue and forces himself to deal with those types when he has to, but its very painful for him.

 

As for the secession movement, its being led by Eric Deters, and for those who know Eric, nothing more need be said. I sure can't say the same nice things about Eric that I said about Ralph. Momma's rule will now kick in.

 

As to the original question, yes its a very dangerous precedent. But I'm not the least bit surprised that Eric is advocating these actions. It will get worse, mark my words.

[colonel-fan]

As to the original question, yes its a very dangerous precedent. But I'm not the least bit surprised that Eric is advocating these actions. It will get worse, mark my words.

 

I agree. When the 3L site was abondoned, any new site chosen was destined to result in a firestorm.

[Sting]

I would like to ask each member of the opposition where a good location for the jail would be? Nobody would be thrilled to have it in their back yard, however it is going to be in someone's back yard.

[Oldbird]

How much of the backlash is Eric Deters fueled?

[Gmoney]

The decision to put a jail in the middle of the largets growing community without any input, near the largest school in NKY was done underhanded and behind the backs of the citicizens of Independence. The closest house will be within 600 feet of this jail and unfortunately for those in the "Fisher Homes community", their house price will drop 30K off the top because of this. How do I know, I have many friends that live there and have listed their properties only to find out they are not even going to get close to what they paid for it.

 

This was voted for and done after the elections because they knew the backlash that was going to come from it and was purely a political move. This way its easy for those coming in to office to say its not my fault and those going out to say, I did what was best.

 

Lets face facts, the largest crime area in kenton county is covington which is where most of the criminals will come from. For those that don't know its at least a 20-25 minute drive to the new jail site. What happens when we let johnny shop lifter out at midnight because he has served his time with no ride back to covington? Whats going to happen?

 

I am glad Eric Deters is show boating and causing a fuss. Its good that he is standing up for his neighborhood and his town and I hope he is a success in this! Independence is a great place to live and you still have that small town feeling when you drive through it... I would like to keep it that way....

[shooter]

leatherneck,

 

I agree with your assessment of Drees' character but IMHO it was a mistake to handle the situation the way he did. When you're the CEO of a big company you can get away promulgating a controversial decision from above without further discussion. However, that's not how local government works. If Drees didn't know that already he was certainly made aware of that fact at the last budget meeting. The site may be the best possible site to put the jail but that doesn't eliminate the necessity of both having and listening to a public discussion on the matter.

 

I doubt if it's possible at this stage in the game but I would suggest designating two possible sites for the jail and then having a county-wide vote decide between the two. It would put the final decision on where to put the jail in the hands of the people and the elected officials could make the case for which site they believed to be the best without appearing to be dictating from above.

[colonel-fan]

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