County mayor wisely paused plans to build a new juvenile center
Shelby County Commissioners tour the former Shelby Training Center on Feb. 12, 2020. The site is being considered for a possible juvenile detention facility. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Mick Wright
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright represents District 3, which covers areas of Bartlett, Lakeland and Raleigh.
The impatience to build a new facility from scratch caught the attention of the company holding title to an existing, unoccupied facility. Now instead of an $11 million annual lease agreement, the county could acquire the building and property for just a fraction of the original expense – $3.4 million.
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Plans for new youth detention center up in air amid talk of renovation
Shelby County officials, who last year approved funding for preliminary work to build a new juvenile detention facility, are now exploring alternatives such as renovating a closed youth facility in Southeast Memphis.
Officials see new opportunities for juveniles at old Shelby Training Center
Shelby County officials toured the old Shelby Training Center as a possible site for new juvenile detention facility.
The juvenile detention center needs to be replaced
The question ultimately is not whether we can afford a new facility but whether we can afford not to have one.
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