TOLEDO, OH (AP) - Lucas County Commissioners have a big year ahead of them as they work to tackle a lot of issues and projects in the community.
They held their first meeting of the new year this Monday afternoon. The Lucas County Jail was one of the main topics of conversation.
During the meeting, Gerken was re-elected as president of the county commissioners board.
He said there's a lot the city and county can do together to improve the community, with a new jail site being one of them.
"At the end of the day, we can't continue to operate in a 40-year-old building that doesn't work well. First of all it's not safe for the workers or the inmates, or the public, said Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken.
Lucas County Commissioners said plans are moving forward to build this new county jail. They add that it's not only the county that gets to weigh in on decisions, but neighbors, community members and all stakeholders are affected.
Gerken adds it's important that the county communicates why the jail is needed, what it's going to look like and how it is going to operate.
