Board OKs Design Pact for East Otay Mesa Jail

Moving ahead with plans to build a jail despite uncertainty over how its operation will be financed, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $2.3-million design contract for a new detention facility on East Otay Mesa.

By a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Brian Bilbray absent, the board approved a contract with the Kitchell CEM to design a new 850-bed jail intended to help relieve serious overcrowding in the county’s existing jails. The design is expected to be completed by next spring, with the jail’s construction--estimated to cost $70 million--tentatively scheduled to be completed by late 1989.

In a related development, a top U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday that he believes that “an agreement can be reached” in the county’s effort to obtain 22 acres of federal land near downtown envisioned as the potential site for yet another jail. County officials, however, are less optimistic about the pending negotiations.

The board’s action Tuesday on the East Mesa jail followed strong protests from Supervisor Leon Williams, who complained that proceeding with the project before identifying how the jail’s operating expenses will be funded “reflects fiscal irresponsibility.”

$11.7-Million Annual Cost

During Tuesday’s debate, David Janssen, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer, said that it will cost an estimated $11.7 million annually to operate the jail, which, following several planned expansions, ultimately will include about 2,000 beds.

“We do not know at this point where that money will come from,” Janssen said.

Williams used that admission to argue that the county was embarking on a “highly speculative” project that could lead to serious financial problems in the future.

“I understand the plight we’re in--I really do,” Williams said. “But before we put ourselves in this kind of high-risk position, we ought to be sure there aren’t any alternatives. We’re talking about the risk of having to close down other county facilities in the future . . . to finance this.”

Shared Williams’ Concern

While saying that she shared Williams’ concern, Supervisor Susan Golding pointed out that it is not unusual for governments to begin projects before knowing precisely how their completion or operation will be financed.

“If we did not do that, let’s be honest, government would come to a halt,” Golding said. “We do it all the time.”

Top county administrators also emphasized that, because the board still must approve construction of the jail after the design plans are completed, the supervisors still would have another opportunity to postpone the project, if they decide that the financial picture is still too sketchy at that time.

Other supervisors warned that delaying the design process could push back the jail’s potential occupancy date by up to a year, as well as endanger about $30 million in state funds that could be used to help finance its construction, provided that the county meets certain progress deadlines.

‘Flying Blind’

Despite complaining that the county was “flying blind” on the East Mesa jail project, Williams, saying that he was acting “with 90% reluctance,” ultimately supported the awarding of the design contract. Four votes were needed for Tuesday’s action.

Under the decision, county officials will provide the board with monthly progress reports--a step proposed by Golding to help alleviate Williams’ concerns.

Possible methods for financing the jail project include a sales tax increase. County officials have said that they are considering scheduling a special election next spring on a half-cent sales tax increase that could raise more than $100 million for needed jails and courthouses. Legislation that became law this week would enable county voters to approve such a tax increase by a simple majority vote, rather than the previously required two-thirds margin.

Meanwhile, in regard to the potential future downtown jail site, Deputy Defense Secretary William Taft indicated that he is willing to begin immediate negotiations with the county over a 22-acre Air Force parking lot, near the U.S. Post Office on Midway Drive.

Sent Letters to Lawmakers

“I believe that an agreement can be reached that accommodates all parties,” Taft said in letters to Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) and Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego).

As part of a long-range, $500-million criminal justice program, county officials have previously discussed building a 500-to-1,000-bed jail on the Midway site by 1991. County officials covet the site because of its proximity to downtown--and, as a result, to the courts and police headquarters.

Although both legislators said that they were encouraged by Taft’s letter, county officials have expressed doubts about the county’s prospects for acquiring the land, now used as a parking lot for General Dynamics employees and a storage area for miscellaneous government equipment.

Under an amendment that Wilson added to a defense bill last week, the county would have to pay for an appraisal of the federal property and offer the Air Force county land of comparable value.

Insufficient for Trade

That requirement alone could doom the negotiations, because the value of all the available land that the county could trade to the Air Force would be insufficient to acquire the Midway property, according to Rich Robinson, director of the county’s special projects office.

Despite that potential stumbling block, county officials plan to meet with Air Force representatives on Thursday to explore the land-swap option and other alternatives.

“Clearly, we don’t have enough land to readily transfer to the military, so we’ll have to see whether there are other possibilities,” Robinson said. “Basically, we’re trying to find out just how negotiable this transaction might be.”

In his letter to Wilson and Lowery, Taft emphasized that the federal government could not simply transfer the 22-acre site to the county at no cost--as local officials had hoped--because projected Defense Department needs for the property through the year 2000 preclude its designation as excess property. The site adjoins the Air Force’s Plant 19, where various defense work is conducted.

However, noting that there is “considerable flexibility on both sides as to how we might structure an agreement,” Taft held out hope that another way could be found to allow the county to use the land for a jail.