The Warden for Grey County wants to see a new jail built in the Owen Sound area, now that the word is out about closing the current one.
Arlene Wright says having no jail in the region wouldn’t make sense.
For one, she says the province just built a brand new courthouse in Owen Sound, and it won’t make sense to transport prisoners daily from the courthouse back to the jail.
Wright adds that’s not fair to Owen Sound taxpayers, who already cover the costs of security at the courthouse.
She says they’ll be the ones paying for the prisoner transfers as well.
But Wright says the current jailhouse needs too many capital upgrades and improvements — so she says it would make more sense to build a better jail either in Owen Sound or somewhere nearby.
She says Grey County could be a central location to services Bruce and Dufferin counties as well.
Wright is also concerned about the loss of jobs for courthouse employees and the impact that will have on their families, and on the local economy.
It’s estimated the economies in Owen Sound and Walkerton would each lose out on three million dollars.
The province leases the jail facility from Grey County, and their lease expires at the end of the year.
Wright says the province has to give six months notice to terminate the lease, which means they’d have to tell the county by the end of June.
If they don’t give notice, Wright says there should be a public outcry to convince the government that the community needs the jail.
