Liabilities, Benefits Bear Consideration

Thu., Sept. 24, 1998

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

Idaho officials yet may rue the day they played politics two years ago by choosing Lewiston as the site for a juvenile detention facility, rather than Kootenai County.

Lewiston residents apparently don’t want it.

And Kootenai County commissioners have cooled to the idea, now that the Department of Juvenile Justice is discussing a plan to house medium- to high-risk youths in a lock-down center. In 1996, the commissioners eagerly offered to provide 10 acres free near the Coeur d’Alene Air Terminal in an attempt to attract the facility, then proposed for low- to medium-risk juveniles.

The commissioners and economic development officials coveted the well-paying jobs attached to the proposal.

At this point, county commissioners are wise to proceed with caution. But they shouldn’t reject outright an attempt by state Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Hayden, to resurrect this idea. The proposal still offers an economic plum: approximately 130 jobs with starting salaries from $25,000 to $30,000. It also would save in property taxes. The county wouldn’t have to pay to ship youths 120 miles to Lewiston.

But there’s a quality-of-life question to consider. Does Kootenai County want to take a chance with a center for high-risk youngsters? In a meeting with Crow Tuesday, Commissioner Ron Rankin weighed in: “We’re going to have sex offenders, psychotics and addicts. The offenses aren’t candy store offenses. This is a major installation and, in my opinion, a threat to the county.”

Not only is there concern about the occasional escape but, some would argue, the center would be a magnet for undesirables. Felons from throughout Washington have stayed and committed crimes in Spokane County after being released from Airway Heights and Geiger corrections centers. The Idaho center, however, will be a regional one. Most of the young criminals housed in it will come from Kootenai and the four other northernmost counties.

Although it’s tempting to ship Kootenai County’s problems to Lewiston, doing so is not fair. Also, there’s merit to the argument that having families nearby will help rehabilitate youngsters.

At this point, juvenile justice officials are committed to building the facility in Lewiston, chiefly because the state has spent $130,000 for a site. However, they now have an independent study that urges them to build the center in Kootenai County. If Lewiston rejects a permit for the center, Kootenai County can expect state officials to come calling, cap in hand. County commissioners should resist the temptation to slam the door in their faces.

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