It’s hard to find someone who does not agree a new county jail is needed and necessary in Warren County. The problem is where to put it.

Understandably, no one wants to have a jail facility near where they live, where they worship in church or where their children and grandchildren attend school.

Most perceive there to be a negative impact on their neighborhood and fear for their safety. Both reactions are understandable and legitimate concerns.

A new county jail to replace the current 111-year-old facility has been a topic of discussion for several years and the Warren County Board of Supervisors have made it a priority to begin construction before their terms end in 2019. They were hoping to have a site secured by the end of 2017, but here we are approaching mid-2018 and a final decision on the location still has not been secured.

By state law, the supervisors are responsible for building a jail in the county seat and there just isn’t that much available space within the city limits for a facility that would have the potential to expand over a 100-year period. To build the jail outside the city limits requires a local and private bill between the city and county that must be approved through the Mississippi Legislature.

The supervisors claim to have looked at dozens of possible locations inside and outside the city limits of Vicksburg. And there’s no reason to doubt them. The list was narrowed down to three possible locations and after proposed sites at Berryman Road and the Ceres Industrial Park were turned down by city and economic development officials, the supervisors decided upon the old Pinewoods Hotel property on Highway 80 that sits just outside the city limits. City officials have agreed to an agreement with the supervisors on the location and the bill is currently sitting on the desk of Gov. Phil Bryant for his approval.

If the supervisors come to an agreement with the landowner on the purchase price for the old Pinewoods Hotel site, the facility will be built on a 47-acre tract of land that includes acres of buffer from its neighbors, which is a major factor in why the board wants a piece of property of this size for the new jail.

Having watched this process play out since moving to Vicksburg in August, I’ve seen the supervisors listen to the legitimate concerns of residents in the community who have approached them in their board meetings.

Not everyone is going to be pleased regardless of where the jail is finally built. However, I do believe the board has put its best foot forward with a plan that will make the least amount of impact and inconvenience as possible considering the stipulations they are under.

But this is reason they were elected to these positions to make such decisions and this is the best location all parties involved could come up with.

Rob Sigler is editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at rob.sigler@vicksburgpost.com. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.