Staff To Request Land Extension For Law And Justice Center

Sonora, CA — Tuesday Tuolumne CAO Craig Pedro will ask his Board of Supervisors for a one year extension of the contracts involving the purchase of land for the proposed Law and Justice Center to be located on the southside of Hwy 108 directly across from Wal Mart.

According to Pedro, the original contract called for a $4.2 million payment to the Gardella Family and a trading of properties with the Martin Family. Two recent appraisals of the property have validated the $4.2 million as an acceptable price for the 47.68 acres.

The extension is needed because the Environmental Impact Report has yet to be completed and county staff wants the potential purchase of the property to remain in play.

Once the E.I.R. is completed, public hearings will be conducted and the Planning Commission will then make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Pedro estimates the E.I.R. should be completed by March with the Board´s decision not being realized until September.

Pedro added that the refusal to accept the $16 million for a jail complex has no bearing on the land purchase. Pedro feels that amount is merely a drop in the bucket for what is needed to build a new jail complex.

The initial plans call for the campus to include the jail, a courthouse (to be paid in full by the state), a Sonora area office for the CHP (to be paid in full by the CHP) and a juvenile detention center. The county has submitted a grant for $16 million of the $22 million it would take to construct such a facility. The county would be responsible for the remaining $6 million.

Pedro adds that additional sources of funding have yet to be determined for the jail (outside of what the state would contribute) or the $6 million needed for the balance of the cost for the Juvenile Detention Center.

At 9am click Supervisors Meeting for the live audio stream brought to you by Blue Mountain Minerals.

Written by Bill Johnson