County Backs Plan for $51.3-Million Jail : Supervisors: The proposal is approved on a 4-1 vote, but some say it would discourage growth in Santa Paula.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to spend $51.3 million to build a 752-bed jail on farmland midway between Santa Paula and Ventura.

The sole dissenting vote came from Supervisor John Flynn, who repeatedly said the plan to build the jail at Todd Road and the Santa Paula Freeway is too expensive. Flynn insisted that the county could make room for 750 more inmates by spending $29.4 million to build additions to the Ventura County Jail and to the work farms.

Several Santa Paula residents joined Flynn’s opposition during a 3 1/2-hour hearing before the vote. Some warned that building a jail at that site would violate a greenbelt of farmland. Others said the presence of a jail would discourage growth in nearby Santa Paula.

But nearly a dozen county law enforcement, court and municipal officials spoke in favor of the plan, saying it would ease the inmate population at the Ventura County Jail.

To build the new jail, the county must spend $10.3 million in county money to match a $30.9-million grant from the California Board of Corrections, officials said.

The county would be required to spend another $10.1 million to build a jail that meets specifications drafted by the county’s jail construction committee. That committee includes officials from the Sheriff’s Department and from the offices of the chief administrative officer and auditor-controller.

The jail could be expanded to 2,307 beds by the year 2010, at a cost of up to $210 million, officials said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in April and last two years, said Art Goulet, county public works director.

But the proposed 157-acre site has a few problems--including at least one underground oil tank, five deserted oil wells and an oil sump, according to an environmental impact report from the committee.

Dr. Ronna Jurow, a Ventura physician, said before the vote that the underground toxic wastes could endanger jail inmates if not cleaned up.

Goulet, however, said the county already plans to have the site cleaned up. It is negotiating with the property owner, Mike Buckner, over who will pay for the cleanup.

Goulet said the county has not begun negotiations with Buckner to buy the property, estimated to be worth $3 million.

Sheriff John Gillespie, Camarillo Mayor Charlotte Craven, Simi Valley Police Chief Paul Miller and Oxnard Police Chief Robert Owens spoke in favor of the Todd Road site, saying the county must build a jail to hold its burgeoning inmate population.

“We’re a victim of our own efficiency here in Ventura County,” Miller told the supervisors. “We’ve got a system that works and the result is that we’re pushing people through the system. . . .”

Santa Paula Mayor Kay Wilson said, “From the taxpayers’ point of view, it is likely that Todd Road is the most economical site.”

But Wilson also said building a jail on Todd Road could encourage unwanted development in the surrounding farmland that the county has designated as a greenbelt.

Santa Paula residents Paula McGrath and John Wisda said they oppose building a $51.3-million jail at the site and support Flynn’s proposal for $29.4 million in additions to existing jail facilities.

“I agree with it 100%, there is a great need for a jail,” Wisda told the supervisors. But Wisda said Santa Paula is on the verge of a new growth spurt and could lose its small-town atmosphere if it becomes host to a new County Jail.

Neighboring ranch owner Don Pinkerton said he opposes the Todd Road proposal because it violates greenbelt effort and could encourage more industrial development around the jail. He called it “inconsistent with every zoning law, environmental policy and past zoning decision of the county.

“Why not give your colleague, Supervisor Flynn, a fair shake?” Pinkerton said.

Supervisor James Dougherty, however, told Flynn, “Your plan will not generate one dime of state money, and I can’t support it.”

And Public Works Director Art Goulet said Flynn’s plan covers only construction costs, and does not include money for jail staff salaries and other hidden costs.

“It’s important we get the best site with the lowest operating cost,” Supervisor Susan K. Lacey said. “I can’t see growth inducement around a jail. I mean, these folks don’t go out and go shopping for things.”

Supervisor Maggie Erickson said the Ventura County Jail is full and alternative programs such as the Rose Valley Work Camp and the Sheriff’s Honor Farm in Ojai will not be able to accommodate the increasing number of inmates.

The Ventura County Jail holds 2 1/2 times as many inmates as it was designed to hold, officials said. The population there averaged 1,012 inmates per day in May.