BELFAST – The proposal to build a new Waldo County Jail and sheriff’s office may have been on the City Council’s back burner, but not any longer.

During their meeting Tuesday, members of the council took umbrage at Mayor Michael Hurley for commenting publicly that the jail proposal might not have attracted the full attention of some of them. Councilors agreed, however, that it was important to sharpen their focus on the project.

Hurley made his comments about the council during a recent meeting of the county’s facility committee. The committee is working with county officials and their architect on building a 70-bed jail, with room for expansion to 120 beds on a 25-acre parcel within the city limits. Estimates are that the jail would cost between $10 million and $20 million.

Hurley admitted telling the panel he thought the project was below the radar screen of three members on the council. When criticized for making that observation, Hurley stood his ground and went two steps further.

“I would say five out of five [councilors], based on my experience in dealing with this issue,” said Hurley. “If I have done anything, I have got this thing into your attention … If you don’t like the way I delivered the news, I’m sorry, but I’m glad to see you’re engaged.”

City Manager Terry St. Peter advised the council that if the new jail were built as planned, it would be extremely costly to city and county taxpayers.

St. Peter said the debt service on the project would likely cost $1million to $2 million a year, a figure that represents about 25 to 50 percent of the county’s current $4 million budget. The cost of running the new jail would add to that burden, he said. Belfast taxpayers contribute more than one-third of the county budget.

“I’m concerned,” St. Peter told the council. “I’m just afraid the county jail will suck all available money in Waldo County.”

St. Peter noted in a memo that no one disputed the need for a new jail and sheriff’s office. He questioned whether the scope of the project under consideration was something the county could absorb financially. He said current projections indicate that the “at-risk population,” young people or people disposed to crime, would decrease in the future.

“In other words, the consultants and county planners have made plans for a considerably larger jail and sheriff’s office based on certain assumptions,” St. Peter noted. “If those assumptions were changed, the size of the facilities, and the land requirement would change.”

St. Peter also noted that, unlike school construction projects, which receive financial assistance from the state, the costs of building, operating and maintaining county facilities are borne by the taxpayers of the county.

Hurley cautioned the council about keeping abreast of the situation because the process was moving forward rapidly.

“When we realize the depth of what they are considering, they are moving ahead,” said Hurley. “They have hired staff and are moving aggressively.”