(Guthrie Center) Guthrie County residents can now find information on the referendum for the proposed jail expansion and parking lot improvement project online at www.guthriecountyvote.com.
The website has information about the need for a new jail; the plans for the 14,800 square foot addition that will be located adjacent to the existing courthouse; there is a calculator to determine your tax impact, and information for the March 3rd vote. Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright said all of the information on the upcoming informational meetings is also on the website. The meetings begin January 7th.
“I’ll be meeting with the community in each of those towns throughout the county for two months. We’ll give a presentation and answer any questions about the jail. We’re also going to do some live videos with the actual Deputies and showing the jail so people can look at that also on the Guthrie County Sheriff’s site,” said Sheriff Arganbright.
Sheriff Arganbright said their jail has been full all year and they have been transporting every day back and forth from other county jails.
This jail addition would provide improved inmate capacity to address classification/segregation requirements and decrease the county’s liability risk. It would also improve inmate transfer costs, rehabilitation, safety conditions, and overall workflow efficiency. The projected savings is $2,169,000 over the next 30 years.