County to expand jail w/fund balance
Kootenai County has trimmed its jail expansion proposal.
The original plan called for a 226-bed, $15.7 million plan, but the proposal now on the table is a 122-bed, $11.7 million expansion with a shell for an additional 108 beds in the future.
"We had to scale back to fit the expansion into the dollars that the county could afford," said Shawn Riley, the county's building and grounds director, adding the county has other facility projects in the works. "The shell will offer further expansion in the future."
County commissioners will discuss — and could make a decision on — the proposal Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
"The meeting with the board will be to see if it wants to spend the money or not," said Riley. If it moves forward, the project would be included in the next budget. The cost estimate includes both design and construction of the expansion.
All the county's facility projects will be paid for with the fund balance of $37 million and not raise taxes or require a public vote/Brian Walker, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.
