Downtown Jail Idea May Be Shifting

Spokane County may be reconsidering whether putting a jail near downtown is such a good idea.

The push to build a new Spokane County jail near the courthouse stalled last year when two big dollar issues arose: a $250 million price tag and another $8 million a year to run it. But a much larger hurdle appeared when important and influential community groups such as Downtown Spokane Partnership indicated that they would fight putting a multi-story 600 bed jail along with its ancillary issues a few blocks from the city center. Persuading 60% of the voters to approve a quarter of a billion dollar bond issue is tough enough---throw in instant opposition from politically savvy and well funded groups makes the task even more daunting.

Now it seems that the Sheriff’s Office understands that getting community support might be the first step toward building a new jail. The Sheriff’s Office told the County Commissioners during a meeting last week that architects are exploring whether a new, horizontally designed jail would be cheaper to operate than one six to ten stories high. If so, the commissioners were told, then it might be prudent to reexamine their site selection.

A jail site study says the top three locations are the county campus near downtown, acreage just off I-90 near the Medical Lake exit and property east of the Spokane Industrial Park. The County prefers the downtown location because it already owns the land and is near the courthouse which limits prisoner transportation costs.

Commissioners are not bound by their first pick but were quick to say that the site selection process will not be reopened and that a new jail will be built on one of the three sites. However, they did seem willing to re-visit their initial downtown decision if a new design shows “a substantial savings in operational costs.”

Now might be the time for the all stakeholders---City, County and the area’s business community--- to join forces to see whether a regional solution can be found.

So what’s your take? Put the jail downtown? In a less urban setting? Is a new jail even needed? It’s your tax money---you have the right to choose.