Paso Robles city officials support a proposed re-entry facility - a necessary move for Santa Barbara County to receive state funds to build a North County Jail, the supervisors were told Tuesday.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said that the final piece of this puzzle would be in place Sept. 16, when the Paso Robles City Council will most likely consider and approve a resolution of support.

Paso Robles Mayor Frank Mecham confirmed Brown's report but added that the resolution of support would also include conditions and contingencies that are time specific.

Because of the city's conditional resolution, the Board of Supervisors was not able to vote on a contract with Paso Robles.

If the resolution is supported by the five-member City Council next week, the additions would allow a measure of control and balance for a project, which many organizations and individuals in Paso Robles still have unanswered questions about, Mecham said.

Paso Robles was tagged as a suitable location for a state-run re-entry facility, which would provide real-world help for inmates who are a year away from being released, for Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and San Benito counties.

There were issues surrounding contract language with the counties and the state, so instead of rushing the proceedings, the city of Paso Robles drafted a resolution with protective conditions, according to Paso Robles Police Chief Lisa Solomon.

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If the resolution is approved by the City Council, it would give all sides 180 days to agree on suitable language or the resolution would be rescinded, Solomon said.

“It was a way for us to adequately protect our interests and still help out the other counties get money for jails,” Solomon said.

The resolution would be the final piece Santa Barbara County needs to remain in the running for a $56.3 million state grant through Assembly Bill 900.

The county needed to have certain conditions met before Sept. 18 - when the state Corrections Standards Board would fully award the first phase of funding to competing counties.

A plan for Santa Barbara County to partner with San Luis Obispo and San Benito counties and the city of Paso Robles on a 500-bed regional prisoner re-entry facility was unanimously approved Sept. 2 by the Board of Supervisors.

If all goes as planned, Santa Barbara County still faces the challenge of funding approximately $24 million in construction costs and $13 million in annual operating costs for the

304-bed North County Jail to be built at Betteravia and Black roads.

In a separate matter, the Board of Supervisors voted to schedule a special hearing for the three appeals filed against the Tranquillon Ridge project proposed by the Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP).

First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said PXP called for a continuance based on a request from his office and county staff because of a desire to explore oil royalty sharing with the state before a state budget is approved.

PXP's proposal includes extended slant-drilling from a pre-existing platform in federal waters off the coast of Vandenberg Air Force Base into state territory.

The project was amended prior to being approved by the county planning commission in May because of a settlement with local environmental groups. The hearing is expected to be attended by many members of the community, Carbajal said.

The special hearing is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 17 in the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway in Santa Maria.

Sam Womack can be reached at 739-2218 or swomack@santamariatimes.com.

September 10, 2008