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Commissioners approve jail
expansion plans for Lafayette
By Kyle Boggs
Summer
Reporter
The main topic discussed and approved at Monday's
County Commissioners meeting was the construction design plan for jail
expansion in Lafayette. The plans layout the addition of one more pod
of jail cells to the existing structure. The pod will contain 208 new
beds and a holding area, which will house 80 beds.
Sheriff David Murtaugh said the expansion has been
needed for a few years now.
"We've had a 100 percent capacity for the last
three years," he said.
"We probably need this extension because the population
(in Lafayette) has grown so much in the last few years," said county
commissioner K.D. Benson.
Another topic of discussion was the parking garage
behind the county office building. Owned, maintained and regulated by
the Downtown Business Center, the garage will now provide parking services
to county employees as well as the public. Previously, the garage was
not open to the public and parking fees were only assessed to county
employees and the surrounding businesses.
"They (the Downtown Business Center) is hoping
that the public will pay to park in the garage," said county auditor
Pauline Rohr. "They need to make enough money to maintain it as well
as profit. If the public parks there too, then our fee to park will
be reduced."
At the end of the meeting, it was announced that
the National Weather Service proclaimed that Tippecanoe County has been
declared a "storm ready" county.
"We exceeded the minimum requirements in all the
categories," said Rohr.
A few of the many categories that Tippecanoe County
excels in are the abundance of outdoor warning signs and sirens, as
well as a phone system that messages can be posted on. The automatic
phone service will call places, such as schools, day care centers and
local businesses to warn them about anything from severe storms and
tornadoes to even chemical spills.
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Library
to provide services for area residents, students
Commissioners
approve jail expansion plans for Lafayette
West
Lafayette introduces plans for new police station
Fiddlers'
gathering to host various musical groups, genres
Commission
discusses subdivision development
CITY DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111
ext. 250
To
send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org
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