PROVO -- Utah County Commissioner Jerry Grover says the commission is unfairly being painted black in the struggle to sell the old county jail in south Provo so the site can possibly be used for a new elementary school.
"We're being called the bad guys. People talk about what a generous offer's been made."Why don't we take it? People don't understand the underlying issues and legal agreements that are in place that restrict what we can do here."
Grover said it isn't simply a matter of a $300,000 difference in the price.
Provo city and school district officials said that's about the amount that lies between the county accepting their offer to buy and the jail staying in business as a jail.
"It's more like $600,000, even a million dollars," Grover said, "when you take into account they're asking us to buy out and relocate the Alcohol Recovery Center."
The center sits on the corner of the jail property.
Grover said the commission actually wants the same things the neighborhood wants -- to have the jail sold and replaced with something more compatible like the proposed new elementary school.
"We're willing to talk," he said, "but the situation is complex."
To relocate the Alcohol Recovery Center involves breaking a 50-year lease that exists between Utah County and the Utah Alcohol Foundation as well as guaranteeing the center that it can relocate somewhere within the county.
"Some entity would have to agree to take them," Grover said. "And even if they find someplace, you then have to go through the process with the city or whoever has jurisdiction. That'll take some time."
Grover said the school district's time line for construction of a new elementary school puts pressure on everyone.
That is irksome because the property was offered to Provo City two years ago and rejected, he said.
"That's why we had the $1.8 million appraisal done, for them, and they didn't want it. They bought some pieces but not the jail."
Grover said since that time, county officials have been proceeding in good faith and assuming everyone involved understood the complications that came with selling the property.
The jail's $1.8 million value is based on its continued use as a lock-up facility.
The county is legally obligated to provide the substance abuse treatment and work release opportunities currently being offered at the old jail building.
To build a new facility for substance abuse treatment and work release prisoners, the county needs $3 million. The sale of the jail will provide approximately half that.
Grover said the commission is pursuing every avenue for funding to come up with enough money for the new building, including asking the Mountainland Association of Governments for $600,000 in community development block grants for the next two years. If the sale price eventually comes in too low, the county would have to look at options like bonding or tax increases to pay the bills.
"If you have any other ideas, let me know," he said.
At this point, he said the county will hold off declaring the jail surplus and continue negotiating with Provo City and Provo School District officials.
"We don't want to declare it surplus until we have a definite plan to sell it," he said.