City officials from Kalona, Riverside and Wellman are being invited to a special meeting to discuss the proposed county Safety Center and Jail at 7 p.m. Monday, July 12 at the Kalona Chamber Building.

The meeting is also open to the general public and city officials from other cities in the county.

Main topic of discussion will be use of a local option sales tax to finance construction of the facility. City officials who attend the Citizens Study Committee for the County Safety Center and Jail in Brighton June 28 indicated they could support a 1 per cent local option sales tax to fund the project. They stressed a need to fully explain the fact that the tax would sunset when the facility is paid off.

Harvey Holden, Washington, committee chairman, pointed out that the committee has recommended a 2-story facility, with the jail on the top floor, and that it be built at the present location.

Projections are that a one per cent local option sales tax, with 100 per cent of it be used to retire the debt, would pay off the $5 to $5.5 million cost of the project in about six to seven years.

At the Brighton meeting, there were some questions about the proposed location. There were suggestions that locating the safety center in an open area would allow for future expansion. Sheriff Yale Jarvis, who has said the proposed 2-story building would be “workable,” has raised questions about the cost of relocating his offices to a temporary facility and the disruption to his staff during the construction period.

The Kalona City Council will meet at 6 p.m. July 12 at the council chambers then move to the Chamber Building for the citizens committee’s presentation.