Richmond mayor calls on residents to pressure City Council to approve new jail

Despite lingering questions, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is calling on residents to pressure the City Council to approve on Monday a proposal for the design and construction a new jail in the East End.

In an uncharacteristically aggressive mass email sent out Friday evening, Jones decried the "run down, overcrowded and inhumane" conditions of the existing jail, as well as the "selfish acts and personal gain strategies, generated by the few that want to delay this project from going forward."

"The process we've undertaken to develop a 'state of the art' justice facility has been legal, professional, fair, comprehensive and honest," Jones wrote. "However, there are those using smoke and mirrors looking for ways to raise questions about the process. It's wrong for anyone to try to bully the city into making the recommendation they want rather than the recommendation that the unbiased process yielded."

City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler, who has been challenging the proposed agreement for the jail along with Councilman E. Martin Jewell, responded Saturday by comparing Jones to the hapless wizard from "The Wizard of Oz," who attempted to manipulate Dorothy and her friends from behind a curtain.

"In this document that he's delivered, he continues the smoke and mirrors that he says others have created," Tyler said of the mayor.

Tyler, who has complained that the proposed jail's height exceeds a limit that had been promised to neighbors, had been calling for the council to delay Monday's vote on the $116.5 million agreement with the Tompkins/Ballard Joint Venture of Washington. But in light of the mayor's email, Tyler said he'll recommend rejecting the proposal and restarting the process to deliver a "desperately needed" jail.

"I feel very strongly that the mayor and the mayor's team have failed in this process," Tyler said.

In his email, Jones outlined what he says are the facts behind the agreement with Tompkins/Ballard and the key reasons that an 11-member review team selected the group over three others that had submitted proposals.

He said Tompkins/Ballard offered the lowest price and its proposal was the only one that did not exceed the project's budget of $134.6 million. Its proposal also offered the best design, no temporary relocation of inmates and a minority-business participation rate of 50.25 percent, he noted.

Tyler said he believes the minority-participation rate may be inflated by about 20 percentage points and that the high rate purported for Tompkins/Ballard was critical in its selection.

"I have asked for us to ensure we have a fair process," he said. "As we stand today, the minority-participation aspect of this is flawed. The bids were skewed. Because of it and as a result, we have what I call a false positive."

Jones' email concluded with an appeal to the public to urge council members to approve the jail project at its meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall and to reject any suggestion of delay. Doing so, he said, would cause the price of the jail to increase and allow the overcrowded conditions at the existing facility to persist. It was unclear Saturday how many emails had been sent out.

"This is going to be a long hot summer for all of us," Jones said. "We can't continue to wait to address the inhumane conditions that are faced by those held at the jail. What's more, we have other issues that need our attention. Let's put this one to bed and do what's right for the city."

Council President Kathy C. Graziano said Saturday that she and other council members have questions that need to be answered. She said her main concern is whether the city, based on somewhat conflicting language in its requests for proposals, is accepting a jail that would be taller than the height of the adjoining bluff, which is home to Mosby Court. She said she was told Friday by administration officials that two of the proposals included jails that would be taller than the bluff and two others offered buildings that would not.

Was the city's guidance acceptable and did the proposing groups understand that height was negotiable? Graziano asked.

"Obviously, two out of the four did," she said.