CLEVELAND — With plans for a new Cuyahoga County Jail on hold, two of the most influential members of the Justice Center Executive Steering Committee have decided to leave the group.
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones, Jr. announced that they were withdrawing from the committee in a letter sent to fellow members Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan, and public defender Cullen Sweeney on Monday.
The letter from Budish and Jones cites three key reasons for their departure from the committee:
- Differing views on the role of the Justice Center Executive Steering Committee. "It has always been an advisory committee," the pair wrote. "Yet, you apparently have a much different view, threatening to sue to "enforce" the recommendations of the Committee. The County officials cannot legally abdicate their role to you, nor will they."
- A conflict of interest concerning Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley. "He is supposed to represent the County, yet he has taken very public positions adverse to the County Executive and County Council, and has taken action to sue the County. How can we go to the Prosecutor for legal advice under these circumstances?" Budish and Jones suggest that the committee will need restructuring.
- The delaying of further action on the jail and Justice Center until a new Executive comes into office, which Budish and Jones believe will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars.
Budish and Jones closed their letter by suggesting that the best course of action for Sheehan, O'Malley, and Sweeney moving forward is to "reduce the jail population and therefore the costs of a new jail."
"The three of you hold the key to reducing the jail population. If you get more prisoners to trial quicker, you can cut the jail population and that would substantially cut the cost of a new jail," Budish and Jones wrote.
Earlier this month, the 12-member Justice Center Executive Steering Committee voted down a proposal to purchase 44 acres of land at 2700 Transport Road in Cleveland to house the new correctional facility.
Five committee members, including Budish and Jones, voted in favor of the proposal. Six members, including O'Malley, Sheehan, and Sweeney, voted against it. There was one abstention.
At issue was the question of the environmental safety at the three parcels of land, which is now the site of a container storage facility, but once housed a Standard Oil refinery. "Your own consultant determined that the Transport site could be safely remediated," Budish and Jones wrote. "Yet at the Steering Committee meeting you rejected the conclusion of your own expert. That was disappointing."
According to court records, O'Malley secured legal representation from McDonald Hopkins LLC on October 3 for a potential lawsuit against the county. Sheehan approved the request for legal council.
On October 11, Cuyahoga County Council announced that it would wait until a new executive is elected next month and takes office next year. "The most responsible course of action is to postpone the decision to move forward," Jones said during the meeting.
The proposal submitted in July by Budish called for the county to take control of the 40-acre Cuyahoga Valley Industrial Center site in Slavic Village that used to be the home of a steel mill, then offer that area for the container storage facility company to purchase for $6.4 million. Cuyahoga County would then buy the land on Transport Road for $20 million.
The site in Slavic Village was considered as a potential site of the next Cuyahoga County Jail, but political and community leaders in Cleveland pushed back because of its proximity to residential areas as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio on Broadway.
The existing quarter percent sales tax, which was implemented in 2007 and set to expire in 2027, would also be extended under the proposed legislation, which could still be voted on by Cuyahoga County Council at a later time.
Last year, Budish said the new Cuyahoga County Corrections Center would house approximately 1,900 inmates and was expected to be ready in 2025. The cost of the jail at the time was estimated at $550 million. Last month, that estimate inflated to around $700 million.
Budish and Jones believe that number will go up even more. "Your actions will cost county taxpayers millions more dollars in new planning costs, and construction costs, and inflation costs," they wrote to O'Malley, Sheehan, and Sweeney.
You can read the entire letter below:
On Tuesday, Judge Sheehan gave the following statement about the letter to 3News:
“Today I received a letter from Executive Budish and Council President Pernel Jones. This letter makes sweeping accusations and dismisses legitimate cost concerns and possible long-term health hazards over the push to build a new jail on an environmentally contaminated site. I will not waste time responding to finger-pointing or assigning blame over the now years-long effort to improve the Cuyahoga County Jail and Justice Center.
However, I will say this: six members of a 12-person Steering Committee voted against the proposed property acquisition as a site for a new jail, and one member abstained from voting, after hearing the same analysis I heard. The determination—the County can do better.
As Administrative Judge, I have enjoyed working with Executive Budish on the Steering Committee project and others, and I recognize his service to our county. I now look forward to all that will be accomplished in the coming years. As a court, we stand ready to work with the next County Executive on a jail project that best serves our taxpayers, the community, and the justice system we are charged with helping oversee.”
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