Yadkin County commissioners won't have to appear before a Superior Court judge this week to explain why construction of a new jail has been delayed.
Judge John O. Craig canceled the meeting scheduled for Friday after the commissioners adopted a resolution Monday night stating their intention to build the jail off Hoots Road, west of Yadkinville.
County Attorney Jim Graham said last night that Craig told him on Tuesday that he was satisfied with the commissioners' action but would retain jurisdiction over the matter.
The site of the new jail -- whether on Hoots Road or in downtown Yadkinville -- has been a point of contention, even though the land and financing are in place.
"Yadkin County needs a new jail regardless of the judge telling us to build one," said Commissioner Chad Wagoner, the chairman of the board of commissioners. He said that construction could begin in March or April.
Wagoner was one of the three commissioners voting for the resolution supporting the Hoots Road site. Also voting yes were Commissioners Tommy Garner and David Moxley. Commissioner Brady Wooten opposed it. Commissioner Kevin Austin recused himself because his family owns the Austin Co. Inc., also on Hoots Road.
In December 2006, Craig ordered the commissioners to build a new jail because of the poor condition of the present jail. In November 2007, the commissioners approved construction of an $8 million jail on Hoots Road.
But controversy over the new jail dragged on, propelled by a series of lawsuits filed by residents and a divided board of commissioners over the location.
State officials closed the current jail in August because of plumbing problems and unsanitary conditions.
The jail remains closed while it is being repaired. Yadkin is paying other counties $45 to $62.50 daily per inmate to house them.
Wooten, who has wanted to build the jail in downtown Yadkinville, led a committee created in 2009 to propose solutions to the jail problem. The committee favored a smaller jail than the one that commissioners approved in 2007.
In November, Craig issued an order barring the committee from meeting or taking further action until the hearing planned for Friday morning in the Yadkin County Courthouse.
Garner said that building the jail off Hoots Road is the right approach.
"My dream for Yadkin County is to have a centralized government center," he said. He eventually wants a new sheriff's office, the emergency-management services' office and a courthouse located next to the new jail.
"Nobody builds a jail in downtown any more," Garner said.
Wooten, Austin and Moxley could not be reached for comment.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
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