OJAI : Jail Prisoners Will Tidy Up City Land
Ten county inmates will soon be doing physical labor in Ojai as part of a work-release program.
Cleaning the debris-filled barranca in Libbey Park will be the crew’s first priority, the Ojai City Council decided when it approved their contract Tuesday.
Future projects include removing debris from other drainage channels, weeding Nordhoff Cemetery and painting restrooms in Sarzotti Park and fences around public parking lots and City Hall.
The Ventura County Corrections Services Agency will charge the city $20 a day per inmate to transport the prisoners and supervise them under the agency’s Adult Offender Work Release Program.
Only nonviolent, low-risk inmates are allowed to serve part of their jail sentence by working for public agencies, said Tom McCarthy, supervising deputy probation officer.
Ojai Public Works Director Stan Moore said the barranca cleanup should take less than a month to complete.
It is the first time the city has contracted for inmate labor, Moore said.
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