Last month, as you should all know by now, a citizen-gathered protest petition more or less forced the Eau Claire City Council to not approve the land rezoning required by the county to expand the much-debated jail/courthouse/cop shop/fortress of justice located betwixt Lake Street and W. Grand Avenue in downtown EC. Yesterday, it was announced that County Board Chairman Gregg Moore has assembled a County Jail Strike Force and tasked them with one, simple mission: figuring out all this crap.

Chairman Moore actually used the less sexy title “Special Committee to Resolve Jail Space and Site Needs,” but hey – coming up with sweet committee names is not what these people are elected to do.

The 15-person panel has seven County Board members, two Eau Claire City Council members, and six noble citizen members. The roster includes such public servant superstars as Kerry Kincaid and Dave Duax from the City Council; and Ken Fulgione, Will Fantle, Howard Ludwigson, and Maureen Slauson from the County Board. Representing the concerned citizens are Reserve Judge Tom Barland, former councilman Hal Davis, good neighbor Jerry Foote, and three others. Read more about them over at the Leader-Telegram.

Between the costliness of delaying/doing the project over (not to mention the $1.86 million already spent on land) and the frothy swirl of heated issues surrounding it (everything from maintaining downtown’s character to the gobs of jobs the courthouse keeps there), this Special Committee has a hell of a job in front of it.

Good luck to them.