Wayne County thinking of continuing downtown jail. Gilbert writes another letter.

[bailey]

If Gilbert got his hands on that land, probably the first thing he would do is demand a tax abatement for "jobs created", which may or may not replace the jobs moved out to Mound, so no net gain for the city.

at some point those abatements expire. and if Gilbert is true to his proposals, residential and commercial will be in the mix. so, long term, it's a net gain as instead of a superblock of prison block you'd have a neighborhood.

"Well, it's cheaper to just finish it so we should."

Whatever happens will be paid out of our pockets. What I can't see is replacing the entire complex, for Gilbert's conveniance.

Rennovating Mound, as a jail, is one thing, and would only make sense if that cost less than finishing the present project. Replacing the entire complex is another. The Frank Murphy was built in 68, and, from what I have seen is not run down. When was the Juvenile facility built? It looks like it's from the 80s. The jail on St Antoine next to the Frank Murphy doesn't look all that old either. The only really old buildings are on the back side of the block.

FM is dilapidated and it's one of 4 buildings that the Wayne County circuit court is spread out among. All need significant upgrades. What would make actual financial sense would be to consolidate them all in one court complex.

To use the car repair analogy, what Gilbert wants to do would be the same as scrapping a good servicable car because it's time for an oil change.

really it's like your 10 person family trading in four 40+ yr old two seater cars that you've barely been able to keep on the road and which have not served your family's needs very well for quite some time for one new SUV that fits everyone and is state of the art.