TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Last week, the Terre Haute City Council had their first reading of a proposal to rezone the property behind Honey Creek Mall for a new Vigo County jail.
At that meeting several community members spoke out against the Honey Creek location, in hopes for a more central located jail.
No action was taken at that meeting but a decision could come in early August, and some Vigo County residents are hoping to show the council that more than just the people at the meetings have an opinion about the jail’s location.
Sunday afternoon, Citizens for Better Government in Vigo County posted a survey to their Facebook asking Vigo County residents if they support a less expensive jail at the courthouse.
According to Andre Kummerow and Charlie Williams, co-founders of the group, their survey has received over 1,200 responses with about 90 percent voting “yes”.
In addition to the online survey, Kummerow and Williams say they have taken a petition door-to-door in Vigo County.
Williams says he knocked on 38 doors on Wednesday and received 24 signatures.
Both Williams and Kummerow say their efforts are to show local government that their are many people who oppose a jail at the proposed site.
“We have been dismissed as the same people over and over and over again coming to these meetings, and we wanted to dispel that myth,” Kummerow said.
“The community should know that we can change things if we stand our ground. We want transparency in local government, that’s what our organization was founded for,” Williams said.
At the next Terre Haute City Council meeting, Kummerow and Williams hope to show the council the results that they’ve gathered.
We have reached out to commissioners Judy Anderson and Brad Anderson about the petition and we will have updates when we receive comment.
