NEWS

Justice center developer offers scaled-down plan

John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com
  • Council president and sheriff oppose revised plan%2C which would reduce jail beds.

The developer of a proposed justice center on Indianapolis' Near Westside is offering a scaled-back version that would cut the price of construction by $17.5 million.

But the leader of the Democrat-controlled City-County Council quickly dismissed the plan as an insufficient and desperate last-ditch plan to save the complex.

WMB Heartland Justice Partners, the group that won the bid to build and operate the center, submitted the revised plan to council members Monday, said Fred Biesecker, the council's attorney.

The plan would reduce the number of beds in the Marion County Jail by 448 and the number of courtrooms by four. The current plan calls for 1,848 jail beds and 28 courtrooms.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office would be moved from its own building into the first floor of the courthouse, and the overall size of the center would be reduced by 80,000 square feet.

The cost of construction would drop from $408 million to $390.5 million.

Council President Maggie Lewis said she opposes the revised plan and said the council was not inclined to consider it.

"Councilors from both parties have been clear that we need a fiscally responsible solution to our outdated criminal justice facilities, and the process by which that solution is crafted should be open and transparent," Lewis said in a prepared statement. "The last-second release of a new and materially different proposal appears to fail on both counts. This is not how this city nor this council should do business."

The original plan was tabled in the Rules and Public Policy Committee, but the council could call it up at its regularly scheduled meeting Monday and propose the revision as an amendment. It then could vote on the plan.

Sheriff John Layton released a statement opposing the plan, saying that no action should be taken until a new mayor and council are elected in November.

Lewis said a new justice center is needed and councilors would continue to try to builder one cheaper.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter: @john_tuohy.