But their opinions about the $102.7 million project vary widely.
There are those who recognize the need for a new jail but don't want it near their homes. Others would not mind living near a jail but would rather not shell out the money to build it. Some oppose higher taxes to pay for a new jail but think alleviating crowding inside the county's existing jail is essential.
And a group of activists wants the project to include more public involvement and consideration of crime-prevention programs.
An $88 million bond issue to pay for the 640-bed jail and courts complex is expected to go on the ballot this spring. The bonds would be paid with a rise in property taxes of $86.90 annually on a $170,000 home.
"It just seems like an awful lot of money just to put someone away," said Charles McCann, a 76-year-old Tumwater resident who lives near the proposed justice center site in Mottman Industrial Park.
McCann recently moved from Olympia into his new home across R.W. Johnson Road from the proposed site. And he said living near a jail would not bother him.
"We knew it might be over there," he said. "I'd vote against it for other reasons. I'm not against paying taxes ... but just to make things more comfortable for a bunch of guys who broke the law?"
Opponents of Thurston County's regional justice center proposal are launching an effort to defeat a public vote on the project.
Later this month, opposition group members have scheduled a public forum to kick off a campaign against the county's proposal.
"They just snubbed the public and, as a result, they've ended up with this crappy proposal," said Glen Anderson, a Lacey resident who works on peace and social justice issues. "It's an expensive proposal that doesn't solve the problem."
Public vote
There were nine public forums on the proposal, plus city council meetings throughout the county, project planners said. A meeting on the project's environmental impacts drew eight people although 1,000 public notices were sent out, planners said.
"The most important variable is that this requires a public vote," said Donald Krupp, Thurston County chief administrative officer. "That is the ultimate opportunity for public participation."
Crowded conditions within the Thurston County Jail prompted county officials to study the issue several years ago. The current jail has the capacity for 358 inmates, but the jail's daily population sometimes swells beyond 500. The average daily population is about 400 inmates.
"I'm not adamantly opposed to it," said Randy Linder, a 50-year-old Tumwater resident who has lived in the Somerset Hill neighborhood near the proposed justice center site for 16 years.
"Obviously, a jail has to go somewhere," Linder said. "When you stop and think about it, I think about this area being on the edge of a populated area. So, it's not just being plopped right in the middle of a populated area. Living here, I'd just as soon it not be here. But looking at it from a bird's-eye view, I can't say it's the worst place for it."
Developing alternatives
Selena Kilmoyer, administrator of the Bread & Roses homeless shelter in Olympia, said she wants to develop alternatives to the county's jail proposal.
"I'm not opposed to incarceration, and I'm not opposed to jails or the regional facility," said Kilmoyer, who is involved with the group organizing the community forum next month. "I'm opposed to our lack of public participation and education. I want to stand up in support of making time now to really scrutinize this issue."
An intergovernmental agreement that outlines how the justice center would operate guarantees that crime prevention and treatment programs will be a priority, Krupp said.
"We have almost $1 million currently focused on correctional options programs aimed at reducing recidivism," he said of the current jail.
A new 15-bed crisis and treatment center, expected to open in November 2004, also would give police officers another place to take mentally ill residents when they are arrested. The center, which the county plans to build, is slated for construction on Mary Elder Road Northeast near Martin Way.
Mental health issues
Bill Pilkey, former president of the Thurston and Mason counties chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and Chris Stegman, a Green Party member, also are members of the opposition group.
Pilkey said he doesn't think the county's plans for additional treatment will be adequate to meet the needs of the mentally ill community.
Peter Gayton, president of the Somerset Hill Neighborhood Association and a member of the justice center opposition group, said he's concerned about the additional traffic the project could generate near his home. A proposal to lessen the impact on the neighborhood by creating a nearby park or sports field would not alleviate area residents' concerns, Gayton said.
"It's admirable, and it's a nice element to bring to the table," he said, "but there are a whole lot of more important issues that we have to deal with."
Others in Gayton's neighborhood share his concerns and would prefer the jail be built elsewhere.
"It's right in our back yard here," said Dave Gosk, a 63-year-old Tumwater resident who has lived in his home for 17 years.
Foes of the Thurston County regional justice center proposal have organized a public forum at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 23 in the conference room at the Olympia Public Library, 313 Eighth Ave. S.E., Olympia. For more information, contact Peter Gayton at 360-705-2692 or Bill Pilkey at 360-412-4039.