Lemoore City Council members took care of business in quick order July 1. The council meeting lasted less than an hour. After listening to city attorney Dale Bacigalupi explain how conditional use permit conditions cover the site, and not the people who own or operate the business at the site, the council unanimously voted to approve a conditional use permit to Karol Cooper to operate Body Art Studio at 55 E. D St., Suite M.

Questions concerning the proposed business were raised by a concerned resident when it was understood that Cooper is also involved in a studio in Fresno that offers exotic piercing, scarification, branding, 3-D art, tooth art, genital piercing and biopsy punches, as well as tattooing. David Tower addressed the council at Tuesday's meeting and said he would only provide tattoo services in Lemoore. Tower, Cooper's son will operate the Lemoore business.

Council member Willard Rodarmel was also concerned high school students might concentrate around the studio, which is located near Rocky's Donut Shop. Many high school students meet there during lunch break while school is in regular session.

The new permit requires Cooper to offer customers only body tattooing at the location, along with prior requirements to upgrade the site's landscaping before the store opens. At the Lemoore City Planning Commission meeting on June 9, Tower said he hoped to open the shop by the end of this summer.

"All I want is to have a little store nearer my home," Tower, who lives in Hanford, said at the city council meeting.

A study session was held at 5:30 p.m. before the city council meeting. The council heard plans by the county to provide the state with viable sites for a re-entry facility for state prison inmates.

According to Kings County Sheriff Chris Jordan, who spoke before council, if the county can find a site to locate the re-entry facility the state would also help fund the needed county jail expansion project. The amount awarded for the project is $30 million.

Several sites in Lemoore, Hanford and Armona are being considered. The Lemoore sites include one near West Hills College Lemoore, a site near Leprino East, and one on Redevelopment Agency property south of Highway 198 at Idaho Avenue.

Jordan said the majority of state prison inmates placed in the facility would be originally from Kings County with about one year left to serve in their sentences. The idea of the facility is to rehabilitate these prisoners by reuniting them with their families before they are placed back into the communities and keep them from returning to prison.

"We want to keep families whole," Jordan said.

The facility would also provide other rehabilitation for prisoners including education, drug counseling, family counseling and job placement help. There would be contracts with local providers for services.

The re-entry facility would have a 500-bed capacity. This would give 175 beds to the alrerady capped out county jail system. The remainder of the beds in the 500-bed facility will go to state prisoners.

The facility would also bring about 300 jobs earning state wages to the area.

Mayor John Murray was concerned that the city would have a hard time competing for police officers against the state.

County administrator Larry Spikes said there were currently three state correctional facilities in the area competing for officers and there were still people willing to work for the city and county.

Council member Mary Hornsby asked what security rating the facility would have.

Rebecca Campbell, spokesperson for the county, along with Spikes, could not say what the security would be at the facility, but did say the facility would not look like a conventional prison. Campbell said if the state follows approved architectural designs, it will not have towers and barbed fences.

The county must provide the state with a proposed site by Aug. 14.

(July 5, 2008)