Commissioners Give Update On New Jail

We got a bit of an update on the new jail that Iron County is hoping to build to replace the aging facility on the north side of Cedar City.

Iron County Commission members Marilyn Wood and Paul Cozzens joined us on the Big Picture Morning Show and discussed where the process is right now. Commissioner Cozzens told us that at the last commission meeting, a committee had been formed to access possible locations. He said, “it was felt that we should get more people involved in the process so we approved a committee in our last meeting and it consisted of representatives from Cedar City, Enoch...some different citizens from different sub-divisions...and that process is just starting to unfold.” When asked about a possible ground breaking and construction update, Commissioner Wood indicated that the timetable has been pushed back. She told us, “we were trying to get it moving along, but now....with inflation and different things that have happened...we were just going to try and fund that ourselves as a county, but now we're going to have to bond.” Because a bond would need to come before voter by the ballot, Commissioner Wood indicated that the process has slowed down, and that it would likely not be until sometime next year that the vote would happen. Both commissioners stressed the need to build a new facility. While it may be some time before the public is asked to vote on the project, the commission and various committees will be gathering all the information to make a full presentation to voters, including location and the scope of the project.