Downum Labels Tuesday A “”Huge”” Day

San Andreas, CA — Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum was all smiles at the conclusion of the Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting.

Initially the supervisors approved a resolution for the county to apply for the $30 million AB 900 state jail funding.

The supervisors then announced the purchase of 28 acres of land from Greg Opinski. The county will pay $1.9 million for the property and then wait for an arbitrator´s decision on the final amount. According to Outgoing Interim CAO Brent Harrington, the final price tag is expected to be close to the $1.9 million figure.

This property is located adjacent to the current Government Center. It was determined to be critical to the building of a new Law and Justice Center. At a later date the county is hopeful of purchasing an additional 29 acres from Ryan Voorhees for future expansion.

Downum is spending today in Sacramento attending various state government meetings. Next up on Downum´s calendar is a meeting with the Correction Standard´s Authority Board in San Mateo March 20. Downum will be asking for a waiver on several match fees.

May 8 is the day that Downum should get the final word from the state.

Written by Bill Johnson