Kent council authorizes agreement with Yakima County to house city inmates

The Kent City Council on Aug. 5 authorized the mayor to sign an agreement with the Yakima County Department of Corrections to house city inmates as needed, a move council members said will free local beds for pretrial detainees and use previously unspent funds.

Council members took the action during a Committee of the Whole meeting after a presentation from Commander Armstrong of the Kent Police Department explaining the staffing and funding rationale.

Commander Armstrong said the city had discovered funds that had not been spent from proceeds related to the Bellevue Regional Justice Center sale and that those funds can be used to pay for housing beds outside Kent. “It’s cheaper,” Armstrong said when asked why Yakima was selected rather than a closer facility. He described the likely operational flow: arrestees would be processed at the city jail, remain for initial procedures and hearings, and, when sentenced, be transferred to Yakima to free up space locally.

Armstrong said Yakima County staff would pick up inmates at Kent and that there is currently no cap on the number of people Kent could send; he described the arrangement as providing “unguaranteed beds” that the city can use to clear bed space for arrestees. He also said staff did not recall Yakima declining pickups in the past, though weather or other conditions could affect transport.

A motion to authorize the mayor to sign the agreement “for the purpose of housing the City of Kent correction facility inmates as needed, subject to the final terms and conditions acceptable to the city attorney and police chief” was made and seconded and carried unanimously.

The council’s action authorizes negotiating and finalizing terms acceptable to the city attorney and police chief before execution; no detailed contract text was presented at the meeting. The record shows the council approved the motion by voice vote, with members signifying “aye.”

The discussion distinguished operational questions from the formal decision: council members asked how frequently the city would use outside facilities and whether there were minimums or caps; those questions were answered in the discussion but were not incorporated as conditions in the motion. The agreement’s final terms and any operational protocols (for example, specific minimums, caps, or reimbursement mechanics) remain subject to approval by the city attorney and police chief.

Background: the city said lining up beds outside Kent is intended to preserve local jail capacity for pretrial detainees and process needs. Funding for the arrangement was identified as available from prior proceeds tied to the Bellevue Regional Justice Center, according to the police presentation.

Implementation next steps: staff will finalize contract language and terms acceptable to the city attorney and police chief before the mayor signs the agreement. The council did not set a timeline for the first transfers during the meeting.