Molino And Cantonment No Longer Considered For New Jail Location

December 19, 2014

The location of the new Escambia County Jail won’t be in North Escambia. Escambia County Commissioners decided Thursday morning during a Committee of the Whole meeting to remove all location options north of I-10 from their list.

Locations previously on a short list but no longer under consideration include Highway 29 between Barrineau Park Road and Duxbury Avenue in Molino, the Central Commerce Park in Cantonment, and near Highway 29 and Beck’s Lake Road, also in Cantonment.

Locations still under consideration included:

  1. Old Soccer Complex, Highway 29 and W Street. Formerly owned by the county, the site now belongs to Gulf Power
  2. Old Palafox and Airport Boulevard. The site fronts both roadways.
  3. McDonald’s Shopping Center site on West Fairfield Drive.
  4. Superfund site on Palafox — some 68 acres north of the Superfund site in the area of Beggs Lane and Spruce Street.

The Central Booking and Detention was damaged beyond repair during a natural gas explosion following flooding on April 30, forcing the county to find temporary housing for about 600 inmates. Now, the county is vetting  pieces of property as possible locations for a new detention facility. As part of that vetting process, the county is looking at the drainage and flooding potential, zoning and traffic patterns for each site.

Comments

15 Responses to “Molino And Cantonment No Longer Considered For New Jail Location”

  1. OK on December 21st, 2014 5:36 pm

    Lady,
    Where on 9 mile do you suggest a new court house and jail be built? 9 mile is congested enough as it is and there is no room for it. Wavy Navy Federal expanding and the new businesses being built at the intersection of 9 mile and Pine Forest, I honestly believe the jail should be rebuilt on the land it is already sitting. That side of town just makes more sense. More crime is committed on the West and South side. Arrest them and make them walk in cuffs to the jail for booking. Don’t put it anywhere on 9 mile road and lower my property value.

    Some people lack common sense-you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know 9 mile road is out of the question.

  2. 429SCJ on December 19th, 2014 4:10 am

    The last election seems to have assembled a more sensible cast of characters, as the commission had the good sense not to consider the north end for the jail.

    The soccer complex, is that the old Show Town Drive In Theater location, across hwy 29 at the north end of W ?

  3. Lady on December 19th, 2014 12:18 am

    The courthouse and all county offices should be in center of county. Tat means they should come out of the crowded downtown area an all located around 9-mile road . There are people in the north end of county that have to conduct business at courthouse where there is little FREE parking so bring all the jails out also. I realize that the Attorneys own most of the property around the courthouse and they want it convenient for them. Move out Commissioners in planning the new jail. The old airfield would have been the perfect place for the judicial system in Escambia Count but what did the do but let it go for a hoes in development and built one in the conglomerate downtown. Wake up Commissioners and get out of. Downtown Pensacola. Think about where else you can go but NORTH.

  4. well on December 18th, 2014 9:48 pm

    If they buy the soccer complex again…….

    Some folks are gonna role over in their grave !

  5. Reply to Avis on December 18th, 2014 9:29 pm

    Avis, you need a better understanding of the criminal justice system before you make a comment in the future.

  6. Frank on December 18th, 2014 9:14 pm

    The Super fund sight – Beggs Ln Sight would put it in TOO CLOSE to a School with kids, that could be harmed before they even knew what hit them.

    Why not look to the future and build on the W’s & 29 sight and plan a New Court house together before we run into the outgrown problem SR County is dealing with now.

  7. BT on December 18th, 2014 7:47 pm

    Dang! I was hoping for a shorter drive to visit my neighbors who:

    Break into sheds
    Break into cars
    Steal trailers
    Steal cranes
    Steal rims
    Steal copper wire
    Rob pharmacies while wering underwear on their head
    Shoot at relatives on mowers
    Beat up their pregnant girlfriends
    Steal from their parents or grandparents
    Steal EBT cards
    Drive drunk on the wrong side of Hwy 29

    Northenders are doing their part to justify a faclity on the north end.

  8. JOHN BODIE on December 18th, 2014 5:56 pm

    Perhaps it dont cost enough to tear down the old jail and fix the drainage problem and build a new one at that location , if a goverment body isn’t wasting money..well then they aren’t happy. Lol just saying. Just tear it down haul in dirt, prepare the site with good drainage…git er done….

  9. Avis on December 18th, 2014 5:54 pm

    Couldn’t ECSO operate separately from the jail? Shouldn’t the courthouse and the jail be under one roof instead of the Sheriff and the jail? Are you planning to build a jail big enough to accommodate long-term inmates? I’m just asking.

  10. pam howard on December 18th, 2014 4:31 pm

    Do you know what a superfund site is. No way it’s been cleaned up.

  11. Wayne Early on December 18th, 2014 1:53 pm

    In my opinion the superfund site would be the best idea going forward. Close to i10 not far away from the courthouse and has the space to expand for future projects instead of spreading things around town. The potential for training facilities for all emergency services is expanded exponentally with this location

  12. fred on December 18th, 2014 1:24 pm

    Perhaps one solution would be using the existing site, with the bottom floor being a fenced secure parking garage that could be emptied before flooding, with the rest of the jail complex starting on the 2nd level. Kind of like the houses at the beach, with the first floor blowout walls.

  13. Jason on December 18th, 2014 1:21 pm

    There are issues with each of the listed sites. The “old soccer fields” at Hwy29 and “W” street has drainage issues. While the county could engineer a drainage basin their efforts may only compound problems for nearby businesses. Additionally, transportation cost will dramatically increase the further you move the jail from the Courthouse. This will also be an issue with the proposed Airport Blvd/Palafox site.

    I like the McDonalds Shopping center site in conjunction with the current Main Jail site as it puts the facilities close together in the event of emergencies. However, the FairField Drive and “L” Street area suffers horribly during heavy rains. The current jail on “L” street is in desperate need of renovations. These renovations were on schedule to commence but the explosion of the CBD facility has permanently stalled any actions of the renovations.

    The Superfund site is another acceptable location. EPA has completed massive cleanup o the site during the past 20+ years. The area where a new jail facility is proposed is actually north of the Superfund site. This site also keeps a new jail facility somewhere central to its current location. Additional info on the EPA cleanup and superfund site can be fund here:
    http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/sites/npl/florida/escwprefl.html

    If I was a voting member, I would push the Superfund site for a new jail facility that houses all of the inmates versus having two separate facilities. This will reduce the need for less “managers” as you are only overseeing one facility versus two. Additionally, by combining both jail facilities, the County could save on the massive renovation costs at the current “Main Jail”. This facility could also be razed and developed into another holding pond to deal with the flooding issues that plague the Fairfield Drive and “L” street area.

  14. Bird on December 18th, 2014 12:38 pm

    I think they want/need to keep it as close to the court house as possible. Transportation issues.
    If the damaged jail is to be razzed, why not rebuild there?

  15. margielu on December 18th, 2014 12:03 pm

    I can see the obvious logic in several of these preliminary choices, but on a superfund site? Prisoners are human beings who deserve better than being on top of a toxic waste site! Really, Escambia County . . . You need to eliminate that site from any further consideration. The old jail site would be okay, but if the groundwater issues are rectified, wher are you going to. Have that water directed to? It’s gotta flow somewhere, and the surrounding area cannot handle it.
    Is there a reason the north county sites were rejected? I am not up to date on that topic.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News