Spokane County has begun a search for land where it could build a new jail facility to accommodate inmate growth for the next 25 years and the expected loss of its Geiger Corrections Center in 2013. County officials plan to put a potential jail-funding measure before voters next fall and havent ruled out expanding the main jail downtown.


Sheriffs Lt. Michael Sparber, project manager for the detention facility siting, says the county is seeking offers of land for possible jail sites until Nov. 15, and that it must review at least 10 such proposals before selecting a site.


Last month, the county hired Integrus Architecture PS, of Spokane, as a jail-planning consultant. It also plans to conduct a needs assessment to determine how many inmate beds will be needed here over the next quarter-century, and to identify potential alternatives to jailing certain types of inmates.


We dont know how big it (a new facility) will be, or how much its going to cost, Sparber says.


In the past, costs ranging from $20.5 million, for a jail expansion, to $450 million, for an entirely new regional detention facility, have been tossed around, but Sparber says those figures are no longer current.


Were trying to get away from those numbers until we get the needs assessment nailed down, he says.


Initial planning for new or expanded facilities is being timed to bring a funding measure to voters in November 2008, Sparber says.


The countys main jail facility, which holds medium- to high-security inmates, is located north of the Spokane County Courthouse, at 1100 W. Mallon. The county also operates the minimum-security Geiger Corrections Center, which is located at 3507 Spotted Road, in the Spokane International Airport Business Park. Both are operated by the sheriffs department.


The county cant count on continuing to operate the Geiger center at its current location, however, because Spokane International Airport, which owns the former Army barracks where the facility is housed, has notified the county that it doesnt intend to renew the countys lease on the property, which runs through 2013 at an annual rate of $400,000.


The main jail facility near the county courthouse was built in 1986 to replace a smaller facility in the adjacent Public Safety Building, which is between the jail and the courthouse. Its initial capacity was 475 inmates, and it was full within two years, Sparber says. It has since been retrofitted to its current capacity of 675 inmates. In addition, about 470 inmates are being housed at Geiger.


Thats over 1,100 inmatesnot bad for an original capacity of 475, he says.


The jail system here is operating at capacity, and Sparber says a study done in 2004 by Looking Glass Analytics, of Olympia, predicted the county will need to add 65 beds a year to keep up with growth in the number of inmates.


In addition to planning permanent detention facilities, the county needs an interim plan to alleviate current jail overcrowding, because it will take at least five years to plan, design, and build a new facility, assuming voters approve a bond measure next year to fund such construction, Sparber says.


The countys call for offers of land includes criteria for both urban and rural sites. An urban site would require at least 3 acres of land with flat terrain and utilities available. A rural site, which Sparber says could replace Geiger and have room for other detention options, would require 30 acres, also with flat terrain, proximity to utilities, and access to an arterial road.


One alternative that will be under consideration as an interim or permanent plan is the possible conversion of the countys Department of Emergency Management building, which is just north of the jail, at 1121 W. Gardner, into a 190-bed jail facility. That structure also could be connected to an expansion of the current main jail building, Sparber adds.


Were going to have to look at the infrastructure and look at using it for temporary inmate housing, he says. It could ultimately become part of a master plan for a booking area.


Sparber says he hasnt seen another proposal to expand the current jail thats mentioned in the countys capital facilities plan. The plan, dated Jan. 16, 2007, says a proposed addition to the jail would add 540 beds at a cost of $21.5 million, which, if approved by voters, would be funded through general obligation bonds.


The capital facilities plan, which is a state-mandated component of the countys comprehensive plan, projects the countys facilities needs through 2012. It says the proposed 540-bed addition would be sufficient to house anticipated growth in the number of inmates beyond 2012, but notes that the addition wouldnt be intended to replace the Geiger facility, which is expected to close the following year.


The plan predicts that the Geiger facility would need to handle up to about 700 inmates by 2012.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.