Washington County study projects hundreds more jail beds by 2055; board seeks working assumptions before design

Washington County commissioners heard a presentation Aug. 12 on a jail and community corrections center capacity study that projects substantially more secure jail beds will be needed by mid-century and lays out program and design choices the county will face.

The county's assistant administrator, Erin Calvert, summarized the report and told the board the study "project[ed] a need for between 751 and 947 jail beds by the year 2055." Calvert and Matrix Consulting, the firm that prepared the assessment, stressed the projection is a baseline for further policy, programming and funding discussions.

Why it matters: commissioners said the numbers will drive design choices, operating-cost estimates and financing strategy. Chair Catherine Harrington and others said they want a short additional review step that records the board's working assumptions about minimum capacity, program space and booking/courtroom needs before the county hires an architectural/design firm for predesign work.

Key findings and current conditions - Design capacity and current operation: the existing jail is designed for 572 beds but has had multiple housing units closed for critical infrastructure repairs. Sheriff Caprice Massey said that while the jail "when we're fully functioning with 572 beds, we are the second smallest jail per capita in Oregon," the closure of three housing units has made the facility substantially smaller in practice. Calvert and staff said current operational bed availability has been nearer to about 380 beds while repairs continue. - Projection ranges and methods: Matrix's baseline projection (using 2015–2024 historic data and several statistical models) produced an average-daily-population (ADP)…