Johnson County Justice Center Measure Defeated

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek has been lobbying for a new Johnson County Jail for more than a decade.

It looks as if he'll have to work at least a little longer to see the project come to life.

Johnson County voters voted 35,403 - Yes to 28,202 - No on the $48 million bond for the project that would have included a jail expansion and needed updates to the Johnson County Jail. This equaled 56 percent of the total vote, however, barely short of the 60 percent needed for a super majority.

"The positive side of this is the majority of the people who voted for the project were for it, it was just unfortunate that the law requires a supermajority," Pulkrabek said Tuesday evening after learning the results of the vote.

Pulkrabek said the earliest the county board of supervisors could pursue another project of this type would be in six months from now. He said it would be up to them whether it would be a similar project or some scaled down version.

Pulkrabek said that although he was disappointed with the result, he said he will continue working with the situation as it exists today.

"I and my staff are going to get up in the morning and do the same job that we always do," Pulkrabek said.

Donald Baxter, an opponent of the jail project who was one of the volunteers who helped organize the Vote NO on the "Justice Center" effort, said the jail vote failed due to the project's proponents not assuaging persistent doubts in the community. This includes possible changes to local policing policies, the location of the jail, and the justification for the cost.

"They just didn't make their case," Baxter said.