Spokane7
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June 8, 2010 in City
County picks Medical Lake site for new jail
Divided Spokane County commissioners Tuesday chose a site near Medical Lake for a second jail and the courthouse campus as a place to rehabilitate criminals.
The vote was unanimous to locate a treatment-oriented “community corrections center” near the existing jail, behind the courthouse and Public Safety Building.
Sheriff’s officials favored that site because it has better access to public transportation and other services.
The vote was 2-1 in favor of putting a replacement for the Geiger Corrections Center near the Medical Lake interchange of Interstate 90.
Commissioners Todd Mielke and Mark Richard favored that site, but Mager thought the medium-security lockup also should be on the courthouse campus, near courts and service providers.
First, though, Mager wanted to table the site selection for a year to allow a more thorough test of rehabilitative programs. That would give commissioners a better idea of how many new jail beds are needed, she said.
Also, Mager argued, commissioners should find a dedicated source of money to operate a community corrections center before asking voters to build one. Commissioners plan to put a bond measure for jail construction on the April 2011 ballot.
The center would provide classes, counseling, substance-abuse treatment, assistance in finding jobs and other measures to help offenders stay out of trouble.
Commissioners aren’t sure a construction bond measure will pass, “but I’m willing to bet that we can get people to vote for dedicated funding for the things that count,” Mager said.
She alluded to a one-tenth percent sales tax increase that might appear on the same ballot as a bond measure.
Mager’s motion to postpone the site selection died for lack of a second.
However, all three commissioners agreed to varying degrees that the proposed size of the new jail – 1,280 beds – may no longer be appropriate in view a dramatic decline in the jail population that will cause 67 corrections deputies to be laid off this later this month.
The existing jail and Geiger were “bursting at the seams” with up to 1,300 inmates a day when studies for a new jail began three years ago, but the daily average is down to 775 now, Mielke said.
The existing jail was built to hold about 460 inmates, and the proposed community corrections center would have 250 to 300 beds.
Mielke said he no longer thinks expansion is the reason to build another jail. Rather, he said, the county needs to renovate the existing jail and replace Geiger, which he described as an unsafe and insecure former Army barracks that predates World War II.
Although the jail population is down and fewer new beds may be needed, “we are still bursting at the seams,” Richard said. It’s too soon to know whether the drop in inmates is a trend or an anomaly, he said.
The chosen site near Medical Lake will give commissioners more flexibility in building an appropriately sized jail. While the courthouse campus site would require a six-story tower, the rural site would allow construction of one-story, 256-bed modules as they are needed.
It also would save $54 million over 40 years, Mielke said. But Mager said she feared higher-than-predicted operating costs at a rural site, where the new medium-security would have greater transportation costs and couldn’t share services with the existing high-security jail.
Inability to share services – such as laundry, kitchen and infirmary – is why Mielke moved to rank a third site, in Airway Heights, at the bottom of the county’s list.
Mielke said he had hoped to share facilities with the state’s Airway Heights Corrections Center, which is across Sprague Avenue from the proposed site. But state officials weren’t interested, he said.
Consultants determined that, without considering cost, the courthouse campus was the best site and the Airway Heights location was second best.
Consultants also concluded that a new high-rise jail near the existing jail would cost more than a rural complex to build, but would be cheaper to operate.
Richard and Mielke said it would take decades and full occupancy to realize a saving in operating cost.
Couple acquitted of caging 2 boys 
oneanddone on June 08 at 7:30 p.m.
Hey Medical Lake,
Be careful what you wished for.
D Statler on June 08 at 8:28 p.m.
What a JOKE! Gotta get the inmates as far away from the courthouse as possible. That way the commissioners won’t have to see the jail when they walk into work.Please move the courthouse to Medical lake too.I am ashamed to see the mismanaged system when I walk to work!
maynard on June 08 at 9:07 p.m.
Im confused…I thought the voters rejected a measure back in November to build a new jail…now the county is going to step in and build one anyway. What’s going on here???
O_H_ on June 08 at 9:13 p.m.
Ridiculous… When Pinelodge is a stones throw away. AND EMPTY? Again the county throwing our money away. Maybe we need some commissioners who know how to budget. If we vote NO, they will somehow force it down our throat. Just like the racetrack.
riverlaw on June 08 at 10:14 p.m.
Looks like the voters are going to spend a bunch of taxpayer money put this on the ballot and defeat yet another bad idea by Mielke and Richard — how about house inmates at the race track boys? Or the unpermitted wastewater plant?
Thanks Bonnie for standing up to this craziness and being the real fiscal conservative.
de3 on June 08 at 10:17 p.m.
Will the Sheriff being laying off the staff of the new jail too? Just curious …
spokanecougar on June 08 at 10:57 p.m.
The jail we currently have isn’t eve full and is getting less full all the time. How are these commissioners and sheriff still employed? Why are continuing to elect people that do the exact OPPOSITE of what the voters want. You idiot politicians and stupid sheriff, we have already said we do not WANT this jail by voting it down already and your own statistics and actions (laying off jail staff) show we don’t NEED new jail. STOP WASTING MY TAX MONEY, we are already in a budget crisis and I can think of about 100 things this county needs before a new jail - do you guys need some help doing your job, because we can find someone to replace you idiot politicians and sheriff.
yellowcat on June 08 at 11:24 p.m.
Commissioner Bonnie Mager made a motion to table the decision to choose a site for the new jail for a year. Neither Commissioners Richard nor Mielke would second it. Bonnie Mager made this motion because the jail population has recently been reported between 700-800 inmates, down from a average population of 1170 in 2008. As Commissioner Mager pointed out, due to the economy and the drop in jail population here and across the country, it is time to fund the programs suggested by the jail consultant Mr. Bennett and re-assess the need for a new jail a year from now. Mr Richard and Mr. Mielke insist on going ahead with the new jail for 1800 or 1900 inmates.
Violent crime has dropped for the third year in a row in Spokane. It is down 19% from 1995. The U.S. incarcerates more people per capita than any country in the world. A new jail makes no sense.
The bond issue in April 2011 will be for $400,000,000, including finance fees. This does not include funding for programs like drug court, work release, mental health treatment. We do not need a new jail in Spokane.
dallison on June 08 at 11:51 p.m.
Violent crime rates may be down but property crimes have dramaticlly increased and appear to be steadlly on the rise!
But i guess we can just keep arresting and letting criminals out over and over to reoffend since they know they will face little if any time behind bars.
Weather looks great for some drag racing this saturday!! :)
Dazzeetrader11 on June 09 at 12:54 a.m.
The County Jail bond won’t and shouldn’t pass. Maintaining 2 jails is ridiculously expensive. Ozzie needs to go come November. Think about all the travel to and from!
Verner spends millions of the tax dollars unnesessarily and now come these two who want to do the same thing with County funds. When will we find a conservative who cares about money?? Al French will never let this happen. Vote for him.
He’s conservative. Mager’s the only voice of reason these days. Too bad French is having to run against her.
We need both of them. Sell that racetrack you fools! Quit wastin money…haven’t you heard???Times are tough!
spokanecougar on June 09 at 1:54 a.m.
Daisy wants more conservatives??? You do know it is the VERY EXTREMELY conservative Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and conservatives Mark Richard and Todd Mielke that voted for this and are continuing to waste tax money on this issue, Verner and Mager, the liberals, are against this.
Dazzeetrader11 on June 09 at 3:37 a.m.
Fiscal conservatives coug,,,,everything else falls into place.
skierdc1 on June 09 at 5:49 a.m.
This is what you get when you have two incompetent Commissioners and only one good one!
greyhound2 on June 09 at 7:05 a.m.
The prison-industrial complex continues on its self-serving march to bankrupt the country with yet another new jail. The United States currently has more people locked up in jail on a per capita basis than any country on the planet and of all time. It is estimated that about 60% of the jail populatin are there due to Nixon’s failed War on Drugs program, designed to go after the king-pins but ended up only locking up poor, young males who couldn’t afford an attorney. Besides the construction costs, taxpayers are bilked out of about $30,000 per year to warehouse one inmate for one year. What a waste.
spokanecougar on June 09 at 12:09 p.m.
Hahaha, there is no such thing as a fiscal conservative anymore. You, like the rest of the GOP, are a dying bread.
eagleproducer on June 11 at 8:24 a.m.
The U.S. not only imprisons more citizens per capita, we have more prisoners than ANY OTHER NATION ON EARTH!
25% of all people imprisoned world wide are held in U.S. prisons/jails. The U.S. has 5% of world population. That is obscene and needs to stop. What happens to inmates when they are released is completely different from our historic past. Now they are ostracized, denied citizenship rights and generally encounter conditions that make recidivism almost a guarantee.
My guess is both Richard and Mielke are beholden to the developers and contractors who would benefit from building a new jail. Richard has extensive ties to developers and contractor so I’d follow the money, like one should in any decision involving politicians.
Adam_Werth on June 11 at 9:40 a.m.
When are our leaders going to come to the realization that we cannot base our local economy on criminal justice. We need to focus on economic development and create jobs we can be proud of if we are to make progress as a community.