With mental-health services and tens of millions of state dollars on the line, the Santa Barbara supervisors brought back to life a wing of Sheriff Bill Brown’s proposed northern branch jail — a project thought to be dead three weeks ago.
Late last week, Supervisor Steve Lavagnino tacked on an addendum to Tuesday’s agenda, proposing that the county executive staff research alternatives to the treatment and reentry project, better known as STAR, killed by a 4-1 vote on November 17.
That 228-bed facility, Brown promised, would be especially suitable for the mentally ill. He secured a $38 million, highly sought-after grant to pay for 90 percent of the construction costs. But after nine contentious meetings since 2013, the supervisors balked at the sheriff’s ever-changing plans. Last month, they rejected the project, arguing the county is too financially strapped to pay the $2 million annual operating costs and that jail cells are no place for the mentally ill.