Residents express concerns over potential new Clark County Jail site

SPRINGFIELD — Clark County Commissioners are focusing on a site where they plan to build a new county jail.

Voters will have a say on potential funding for the project in November.

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News Center 7’s John Bedell spent part of his day in Clark County on Tuesday talking to the sheriff, county commissioners, and people who are not happy about the plan in the works near their homes.

Cynthia and James Parsley have lived along State Route 72 just south of Interstate 70 in Springfield Township for decades.

“We’ve been here 35 years,” James said.

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The couple says they love the bucolic setting and the views from their backyard.

“We like sitting out here in the back and just – the peace and comfort,” Cynthia said. “We enjoy that.”

But lately, they say, word has started to spread among neighbors about the new county jail construction proposal in the works for the property that borders their backyards.

“I hate the thought of it,” the Parsleys’ next-door neighbor, Monica Upton, of Springfield Township, said. “My safety. Our property values, the children in the area with criminals in our backyard. I don’t know what else to say, I think it’s just terrible.”

The Parsleys said they also learned about the plan in a personalized letter from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, and signed by Sheriff Christopher Clark, that came in the mail this past Saturday.

The Parsleys now know the view from their backyard could soon be changing.

“We’re not happy,” Cynthia said. “Not at all.”

Just last week, Clark County Commissioners approved a purchase agreement for nearly 30 acres of farm field that borders the Parsleys’ and Upton’s property. The parcels of land sit within Springfield city limits.

“If everything goes the way we’d like, we will build an entire public safety complex there,” Clark County Sheriff Christopher Clark told News Center 7 on Tuesday.

Sheriff Clark said that “public safety complex” would include a new Clark County Sheriff’s Office headquarters and a new Clark County jail.

Bedell asked the sheriff, “Why do you feel you need a new jail here in Clark County?”

Clark said there’s “a conglomeration of all kinds of things that show that we need a new facility,” but chief among those reasons is, he says, his agency has outgrown the current jail and administrative offices in downtown Springfield. That building opened in 1980.

“I have 180 beds,” Clark said of the jail his office operates. “But the state of Ohio recognizes that I have capacity for 167 inmates. We are at 207 (as of) this morning. So we’re way over capacity.”

Clark said, “We want to be good neighbors” at the new site along State Route 72 and confirmed an in-person meeting on the block this week to hear concerns from residents.

“There’s other places they could put it,” James Parsley said. “My concern is our property value. Is it going to drop our property down?”

In a phone interview Tuesday, Clark County Commissioner Charles Patterson told News Center 7 the board of commissioners has studied property values around other new jails recently built in the Miami Valley, including Warren County’s new jail in Lebanon, and is confident property values won’t drop.

“We as a commission are committed to making sure that we put a top-quality product on that site,” Patterson said. “And we are aware of the fact that there are neighbors there. We will be providing appropriate screening and making sure we’re continuing to talk to them throughout the process to make sure that we hear their concerns. It’s not going to stop the project from moving forward, but we are going to involve them in the process. I know the sheriff already has a meeting coming up with some of them. As commissioners, we’ve talked with several of the people already and have committed to continuing that dialog as we move forward so that we have the best outcome for everyone.”

Clark County voters will be able to give their input when it comes to the question of how to potentially produce funding for the project.

Voters will see a 20-year, 0.5% sales tax levy increase on the November ballot.

Currently, the sales tax in Clark County is 7.25%, which includes the county sales tax of 1.5% and Ohio’s state sales tax of 5.75%. If voters approve the measure this fall, it would increase the sales tax in Clark County to 7.75%.

Patterson told News Center 7 on Tuesday that if the measure passes, it would fund around “$82, $83 million” of the estimated $100 million project.

Sheriff Clark told WHIO the county would look for other funding sources, including state grant money, to bankroll the remainder of the project.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story and let you know what voters decide in November.

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