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CEDAR CITY — Several dozen residents attended Monday's regular meeting of the Iron County Commission in Parowan, with many of them weighing in on the county's plans to replace the 34-year-old Iron County Jail, which officials say is the oldest county correctional facility in the state.
The commissioners prefaced the public comment period by explaining that discussions about the need for a new jail have been taking place for at least the past several years.
"This is a process that we've been working on even prior to this commission," Iron County Commissioner Mike Bleak said. "I've been on the commission for about five years now. We were working on this process with Commissioner Adams and Commissioner Brinkerhoff as well. We did some feasibility studies on some different sites."
Fellow Commissioner Paul Cozzens added that when he took office three years ago, his first thought was that the current facility didn't need to be replaced but could be remodeled instead.
"I was adamant and very opposed to tearing down our current correctional jail," Cozzens said, adding that his opinion changed after talking with the sheriff's office.
