Meese Hears Plea for Land to Build Jail
Three San Diego officials, led by Supervisor George Bailey, met with Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III on Wednesday to enlist his support in acquiring federal land as a site for a new county jail. Police Chief Bill Kolender and Councilwoman Gloria McColl also were at the 25-minute meeting.
Bailey, describing the meeting as “a fact-finding mission,” said Meese agreed “to explore the whole situation for us.” One possible site is land at Miramar Naval Air Station that has not yet been declared surplus--a necessary first step before it could be made available, although “it never hurts to open the door ahead of time,” Bailey said.
Bailey said the Navy has attached a price tag of about $14 million to the land. The Miramar site was not discussed in detail with Meese. Bailey said the county has its eye on other sites as well, but declined to identify them to avoid raising opposition from property owners who don’t want a jail for a neighbor.
The county jails in Vista, El Cajon and Chula Vista are overcrowded and the number of prisoners in the downtown San Diego jail is limited by court order.
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