New juvenile detention facility discussed on Tuesday

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Madison County Property Committee met Tuesday to discuss topics, one of which was plans for a new juvenile detention facility.

Committee Chair Jason Compton says the plans are in the beginning stages.

“The building that our juvenile court is in, that our detention center is in, has been there for 40 years. There are just some things that needs to be done to kind of get those things where they need these plans to put such a center into east Jackson, that we need to take another look,” Compton said.

Officials with Lane College and the NAACP attended the meeting and voiced concerns on where the facility is located.

“Before they make all of these plans to put such a center into east Jackson, we need to take another look,” said Harrell Carter, President of the Jackson-Madison County Chapter of the NAACP.

Compton says the potential plan is to renovate and add to the existing facility located on Hays Avenue.

Carter says this facility is the last thing the area needs.

“East Jackson has been devastated with gentrification issues. And now that the cost of living is going up, a lot of these folks in that area are not able to handle all of this, putting such a facility in east Jackson,” he said.

Carter says he and other organizations in east Jackson are taking a stand.

“Would just take a lot of the heart, the enthusiasm of living in a community where people are walking past, the kids are trying to play on the other side of the street. This is just one step that Lane College and NAACP and other parts of the community, the clergy, are very concerned about that piece of property,” Carter said.

Compton says the committee is always open to hearing what the community has to say.

“It is nice to get the feedback from the community to take into consideration at this point. If nobody says anything, then we just don’t know. So it is nice to get that feedback,” Compton said.

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