ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. (WVEC) — There are several unanswered questions surrounding a proposed juvenile detention center in Isle of Wight County.
The Department of Juvenile Justice is proposing the center. Assistant County administrator Don Robertson said they started talking with the state last December, trying to figure out what the state was searching for.
Robertson said during that time they reached out to the mayor of Windsor and other town leaders to make sure they were aware of the project.
The facility was originally budgeted and approved for Chesapeake, but never happened.
County and state leaders are eyeing properties in and around the town of Windsor, that is part of the county's industrial park.
The 60-bed center is expected to provide more than 200 jobs.
“We believe it's going to have a positive impact on the county,” Robertson said.
However, some Windsor council members said county leaders are keeping them in the dark.
Councilman Walter Bernacki told 13News Now there's been very little to no transparency on the county's end. He said county leaders portrayed the project as a youth rehab center, not a correctional facility.
Robertson said the center is going provide services to help with the rehabilitation of the young people.
“We have tried to keep everyone informed and we will continue to,” Robertson said.
In June, the project was adopted in the state's budget. Robertson says within the last few weeks, they've reached out to Windsor officials to get them caught up on the project.
In April, Windsor Mayor Carita Richardson signed a letter to Delegate Emily Brewer on behalf of Windsor supporting the facility.
Officials from Isle of Wight County, Windsor, the Department of Juvenile Justice and Department of General Services met Friday morning to get everyone caught up to speed.
Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice Andy Block said safety and security are what they're focused on the most.
He assured everyone that they want it to be more of a treatment facility, not just a facility for housing and locking young people down.
“What we're trying to do is the best treatment and rehab we can,” Block said. “The goal is to build a site that meets everyone's needs.”
County leaders say they've tried to keep everyone informed about the proposed project, including town council.
Windsor's Mayor Carita said her biggest concerns are location and the narrow road. Councilwoman Flemming agreed the road near the proposed site needs to be improved. She also added she wanted more hard facts.
The EDA held a special meeting in June to discuss possibly moving the location because of the presence of wetlands.
Block says he understands all the concerns, but there's still some key details they need to work out.
There’s going to be a larger community meeting in the future for county leaders to answer many more questions.
Windsor town council is meeting Monday at 5:00 p.m. where they’ll talk more about this center.
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