A retired judge from Hocking County has been appointed to determine if the proposed jail site across from the Muskingum County Fairgrounds will be confirmed or if another location will need to be selected.

The county is bringing the challenge after the Zanesville Board of Zoning Appeals denied their initial request.

As previously reported by Y-City News, the county has selected the former Mosaic Tile property, across from the Fairgrounds, for the new Muskingum County Jail.

Nearly everyone is in agreement that a new jail needs to be constructed but the issue of where it should be located is a hotly contested issue.

Officials seemed taken back by the sheer number of individuals who came out to challenge what should have been a simple approval before the Zanesville Board of Zoning Appeals in early October.

That vote failed when two of its five members, only four of which were in attendance, turned down the proposal after hearing from nearly a dozen speakers. The entire chamber was full of concerned residents.

Assistant Muskingum County Prosecutor Mark Zanghi then filed an appeal, on behalf of the county, with the courts to maintain 1525 Pershing Road as the future jail site.

Right before Thanksgiving, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy appointed retired Hocking County Judge John Wallace to hear the case.

It’s unclear if there will be any actual hearings before Judge Wallace or if all challenges will be done via docket filings. It’s also unknown if the city will be putting up any resistance to the county’s challenge.

Those who want Judge Wallace to hear their thoughts, either for or against the proposed jail location, should mail letters to: Honorable John T. Wallace, Muskingum County Clerk of Courts, CF2023-0295, 401 Main Street, Zanesville, Ohio 43701