Commissioners announce location for new facility

JEFFERSON — After months of deliberation, and much speculation from county residents, the location of the proposed new Ashtabula County jail has been announced.

On Tuesday, the Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners announced their intention to purchase 35 acres of land north of the village of Jefferson on Route 46, to be used as the site of the proposed new Ashtabula County Jail.

The commissioners approved a letter of intent on Tuesday to purchase 35 acres of an 88-acre parcel, currently owned by Vincenzina Martuccio, for $350,000. The sale is contingent on a split of the parcel and the availability of funds for the project, according to a letter of intent approved by the commissioners. Commissioner Kathryn Whittington thanked Martuccio for being willing to enter into an agreement to sell the property.

The property is approximately a mile and a half from the courthouse complex.

A half-percent, 20-year sales tax has been proposed by the county to pay for the construction and staffing of the proposed new jail, and will be on the November ballot. The proposed jail would have 292 beds, with the potential to expand if necessary. The facility is expected to take two to three years to build.

County Administrator Janet Discher said sewer lines would have to be extended 1,300 feet to the site. The extension would require one creek underpass and a pump station, she said.

Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said he doesn’t anticipate any issues with splitting the parcel. Kozlowski said there have been conversations about annexation, but he anticipates more detailed conversations in the future. Multiple parcels would need to be annexed to reach the parcel, Kozlowski said.

The commissioners are open to having that discussion at any point, Commissioner J.P. Ducro said.

The township trustees will be part of discussions as well, Kozlowski said.

Before settling on the property on Route 46, the commissioners also considered property in the 800 block Jefferson-Eagleville Road, the 700 block of Route 307 and the 900 block of Route 46, all of which are in Jefferson Township, according to information from Discher.

Geotechnical conditions were a large part of the decision, as was infrastructure, the surrounding neighborhood and funding, Whittington said. A purchase agreement for the property is being worked toward, Whittington said.

Ducro said he is excited to be able to announce the location.

“I know that this has been dominating the conversation, and I think it’s great that we can kind of put the location behind us now and concentrate on the benefits of the facility,” he said.

Sheriff William Niemi thanked the commissioners for listening to concerns from his office and moving the project forward.

The commissioners announced the half a percent sales tax earlier this year, and have conducted a number of informational sessions around the county, seeking to educate county voters about the plans for the new jail.