State Officials Applaud Juvenile Detention Center Privately Operated Medical Lake Facility Built To Meet Growing Multicounty Needs
State legislators and officials from nine Eastern Washington counties gathered Saturday to celebrate completion of a new regional juvenile detention center at Medical Lake.
For juvenile scofflaws, the party will end early next month when Martin Hall opens.
The $5 million center is unique because it is the first in the state to be operated by a private company, and the first to serve a multicounty consortium.
The consortium includes Spokane County, but was born of frustration among surrounding rural counties that have no juvenile jails of their own. As Spokane County’s detention center became increasingly crowded in recent years, only the most violent offenders in rural counties needed to fear punishment.
Few, if any, of the sparsely populated counties could afford to build a detention center on their own. Medical Lake Mayor Sharie Stearns inspired them to band together almost three years ago with a vision of recycling a vacant Eastern State Hospital building in her city.
State legislators warmed to the idea and provided the building for token rent. The Legislature also offered a loan, but Stevens County provided a better deal by floating a $6 million bond measure on behalf of the consortium.
Stevens County is the largest participant in the consortium, with its commitment to pay for seven of Martin Hall’s 52 beds. Spokane County is second with five beds.
Other counties in the group: Whitman, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Ferry, Adams, Asotin and Douglas.
Most of the commissioners in those counties are conservatives who believe a private company can run a detention center more efficiently than a government agency. So they checked out four companies and chose Correctional Services Corp. of Sarasota, Fla.
Almost as unusual as the Martin Hall consortium and operator is the fact that construction was completed with only minor cost overruns.
“It’s been a good project all the way through,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Deral Boleneus, chairman of the consortium. “We had total change orders of around $70,000, which is about 2.2 percent, and that’s unheard of in construction projects.”
He said construction, including sales tax, cost about $3.8 million and total project costs - projected as high as $5.5 million - is about $4.8 million. As a result, about $1.1 million will be left over as a cushion for the first year’s operating costs.
Boleneus said the consortium won’t have to dip into that money if it can keep 42 beds full. Consortium members have pledged to pay for 27 beds, even if they aren’t used. They’ll pay $95 a day in operating costs for those beds, while the rent for the additional beds will be $115 a day.
Officials hope consortium members or the state and federal governments will rent the 15 extra beds necessary to meet the operating budget.
“It’s like investing in an apartment house that no one rents versus one that fills up,” Boleneus said. “So we’re going to be working to get it filled.”
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