Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Thursday, August 07, 2008

Dan Springer: Alternative jail debate stays civil

By Dan Springer / La Crosse Tribune

Civil discourse fans must be eating up how the latest wave of discussions have gone on establishing a home for women jail inmates on La Crosse’s North Side.

Credit should go to everyone involved for the way this matter has been dealt with, because it could have been a very different situation.

A few months ago, the county came forward with a plan to open a home where women jail inmates could receive the support they need to make a crime-free life.

The county at first wanted to put the home on the 900 block of Cameron Street, which immediately drew harsh criticism from people in that area.

Residents objected to having the home in that neighborhood and also faulted the county for not informing them earlier.

Not long after, the city proposed having the county move the women into a pair of duplexes at Kane and St. Paul streets for a year at a very low cost to the county.

The county switched gears — and began dealing with a new group of angry residents.

But this time, the county handled the matter better. They organized a public hearing, notified neighbors and sent out packets of information about the plan.

At that initial meeting and a second meeting last week, neighbors laid out a long list of why they think the home will fail.

County Board Chairman Steve Doyle, Justice Sanctions Director Jane Klekamp and Sharon Hampson, chairwoman of the county’s Health and Human Services Board, along with other county and YWCA leaders, patiently let the neighbors have their say and answered every question.

Did the county sway any opinions? It’s still hard to say. But the candid nature of these meetings had to help.

County leaders acknowledged they could have made their decision behind closed doors and sprung it on neighbors, but ruled that out from the start.

“If we came in here and shoved it down your throat, you would never trust us again,” Doyle told neighbors.

Unfortunately, being open and candid may score some points, but the county remains in a tough spot. If they move forward despite neighbors’ objections, it could appear they never really were interested in what those people had to say.

As the Health and Human Services Board prepares to meet Aug. 12 before deciding if the county should move forward with the plan, let’s all hope everyone involved continues to debate the issue in an open and civil way.

Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 702-8269 or at dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.