I have serious concerns about the County’s proposed new jail because it would have a significant fiscal impact and would only provide temporary relief to the overcrowding problem without acknowledging, addressing and effectively resolving the two main causes of overcrowding.
As long as there is a possibility that the courts could block construction and derail the plan, we, the people of Allen County, should speak out against this plan based on its merits, not legal technicalities.
First, the initial budget of $350 million “asked” from taxpayers does not come close to covering all the costs associated with actually building the prison — the actual costs would be much higher, probably much higher.
Even the optimistic figure of $350 million is a huge amount for a taxpayer-funded structure, especially one that can hardly be considered an “investment.”
Second, how much more efficient would it be to invest staggering and unprecedented amounts of money in treating the two easily identifiable and treatable causes of incarceration: substance abuse/addiction and mental illness with violent tendencies?
These causes are indisputable facts: simply treating/housing people suffering from these two conditions in existing facilities instead of new “cage warehouses” would reduce the number of people who need to be incarcerated by two-thirds, a reduction large enough to eliminate the need for new, larger prisons.
We know better, we can do better.
Fort Wayne has been down this path many times before, approving or rejecting large capital projects. When voted on by referendum or elected officials, the projects we approve or disapprove reflect our values and, in many cases, what we deserve.
Below is a list of major city, county and cooperative projects that have taken place during my lifetime. As history has shown, they almost always represent our collective good sense and high self-esteem, but that hasn’t always been the case.
The new prison does not reflect our best judgment. It is not a wise or prudent investment.
1950 Fort Wayne, in a citywide referendum, rejected a 100% federally funded four-lane north-south and east-west freeway that would have bisected the downtown core, thereby ignoring a cost-free and immeasurable opportunity to stimulate local population growth and economic development. The reason for rejection was to prevent mass displacement of people living in the city center where the freeway would cross, where more than 50% of the population is black.
1952 The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum opened with 8,100 seating for hockey and 10,240 seating for basketball, and the facility quickly became a major asset to the region as the home of professional basketball (the NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons 1952-57, later a G League team), professional ice hockey (minor league Fort Wayne Comets after 1952), later professional indoor soccer, and always live entertainment of national and international acclaim.
1953 Fort Wayne Municipal Airport’s current terminal building underwent major renovations and expansions in 1981, with continued construction through the 1990s and into the present. Improvements and expansions of runways and other infrastructure and amenities have continually enhanced business and leisure air travel.
1967 Allen County Main Public Library, with its world-renowned genealogy department, will move to a significantly expanded new location downtown.
1968-70 The city and county will work together to build a new, multi-million dollar, efficient city-county courthouse in downtown Fort Wayne.
1994-99 A city initiative, Headwaters Park was built to provide flood protection as well as a large, beautiful open space with a pavilion for hosting citywide festivals, ice skating and more.
2001 Rather than build a new downtown sports and entertainment center, the county voted to raise the roof of the 39-year-old Memorial Coliseum. Raising the roof and increasing seating capacity proved to be a sound investment. But the option public officials rejected would have virtually guaranteed enough pedestrian traffic to support a bustling, thriving downtown that would attract serious tourists at least 300 days and 300 nights a year. Today, we inch closer to that coveted destination, but we could have gotten there and enjoyed it 23 years ago.
2003–05 The renovation and expansion of the Grand Wayne Convention Center will create a 225,000 square foot, premier facility ideal for conventions, trade shows, expos, meetings, conferences, banquets and more, creating a major boom in tourism and premium local hospitality.
2007 With the support of Mayor Graham Richard and a vote by the City Council, construction of a new downtown baseball stadium, Parkview Field, to replace the currently functioning Wizards Stadium and house the A-team minor league team, renamed the TinCaps, was approved. From the outset, the stadium was an undeniable artistic and economic success, despite over 90% opposition to funding such a stadium. Most importantly, the stadium is generally credited with sparking public and private investment and revitalization in downtown Fort Wayne.
2017 Plans call for the first phase of the Electric Works project to break ground in 2021. A public-private partnership with Do it Best, the project will repurpose the long-abandoned General Electric “brownfield” site, transforming it into a mixed-use gem that will be both a hub and catalyst for further growth in the depressed area just southwest of downtown.
2021 Phase one of three projects – Promenade Park, The Landing and The Lofts – will revitalize a key part of downtown by capitalizing on the natural attractions of the confluence of Fort Wayne’s three rivers on the northern edge of downtown.
2023 Plans for phases two and three of Promenade Park and the North River development promise a broader, transformative revitalization of downtown.
2023 The County Council voted to demolish the existing jail downtown and build a new, bigger one in eastern Allen County at an estimated cost of $350 million. Only time will tell if the courts will make this a reality, and if so, how much it will cost and how wise an investment it will ultimately be.
Larry LeePresident of Leepoxy since 1975, he has been a lifelong researcher and advocate for civil rights, human rights and social justice.
