New Jail Already Has Opposition

No time’s being waste by those lining up against a new Spokane County jail. The $100 million dollar bond proposal isn’t even on the ballot yet and opposition has already surfaced. But it’s not the price tag---it’s the location.

The Spokane County Commissioners tabbed the downtown Courthouse campus as the best place for a proposed multi-story lockup and parking garage to replace the Geiger Correction Center which is losing its Spokane International Airport property lease in 2013. But the Commissioners failed to ask the surrounding neighborhoods and business owners whether another 1,000 inmates and the problems that such a facility spawn were in their best interests.

They used the state’s Essential Public Facilities system which is supposed to remove the politics from deciding where to build generally unsavory things such as jails. Ten sites were proposed; the downtown campus rated tops among three finalists. But the Commissioners did not have to select that one. Two other sites---county owned property off Tchsirey Road and private property near the Medical Lake exit on I-90 were also on the table.

That's where the communication between the decision makers and the public never started. Business owners, stakeholders and residents in the downtown and West Central neighborhoods were not included in the process. The Downtown Spokane Partnership, Kendall Yards and neighborhood groups say look at the area around the courthouse now---pretty much bail bond heaven with only a few struggling businesses. Imagine, they say, what it’ll be like when a detention facility about half the size of the 2,200 inmate Airway Heights Correction Center looms over the area: Not much of a chance for any sort of redevelopment along Boone Avenue, West Central could be doomed to remain among the poorer neighborhoods in the city and Kendall Yards would not be as attractive to residents or new businesses as it is now.

The Commissioners and Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich need all the help they can get to persuade voters to approve the most expensive public project in county history. And with some powerful forces taking aim at stopping the deal maybe the Commissioners and Sheriff should step back, hold off on putting this measure on the November ballot and begin communicating with the folks who can help instead of hurt their efforts.