Counties could buy Paso boys school to house inmates in regional jail
Monterey and San Luis Obispo County leaders are talking about buying the Paso Robles School for Boys and converting it to a regional jail
The The Monterey County Weekly reports – When Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller went on a field trip in December to tour a shuttered juvenile correctional facility near Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, he was mostly struck by how big the place was, especially considering the Monterey County Jail is regularly filled to capacity.
At its peak, the 200-acre El Paso De Robles School for Boys housed 1,000 young inmates. It’s been empty since 2008, and on Dec. 19 the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation listed the place as surplus property, meaning the state’s looking to sell it.
Mecham
And Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, along with San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Frank Mecham, might be interested in their counties buying. At least, they want to bring the idea to their respective county boards.
“It’s a small city that’s sitting here and deteriorating and going nowhere,” Mecham says. “I see a tremendous opportunity.”
The opportunity Mecham envisions is still nebulous, but he asked Salinas to consider whether Monterey County would think about housing inmates there as AB 109, the state’s prison realignment bill, sends more nonviolent offenders back to the counties.
See complete story at Monterey County Weekly
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