Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission weighs jail/justice center options and wheel-tax funding
Summary
Officials reviewed estimates for a 75-bed justice center (expandable to 100 beds), discussed a Broadway site that could be filled at no cost by Enbridge, and debated wheel-tax options and referendum timing to fund construction. Commissioners requested engineering and cost estimates before any vote.
County leaders spent substantial time examining options and funding for a proposed justice center.
Mayor McCall (Unidentified Speaker 4) and consultants described a base plan for a 75-bed facility with room to expand to 100 beds; the design follows a "pieces of the pie" approach (25-bed increments). Consultants told the court that recent regional projects showed per-square-foot costs lower than some earlier estimates and suggested the packet figures could be conservative.
An alternative site near the current fire hall surfaced after Enbridge offered to provide fill at no cost to raise a low-lying parcel to street level. Mayor McCall said engineers should evaluate whether the Enbridge offer could meaningfully expand buildable acreage and lower per-foot costs; he asked whether the court wanted staff to produce numbers for adding courtrooms at a Broadway site if the county chose that location.
Commissioners noted safety issues at the current justice center. One commissioner (Unidentified Speaker 2) said the building "was not built appropriately to keep our community safe" and called replacement urgent. Staff and consultants recommended an engineering study, estimates for combined courthouse-and-jail options, and exploration of costs and financing.
On funding, commissioners discussed implementing a wheel tax (vehicle permit tax) to fund the justice center. Proposed splits included combinations such as 40/40/20 (jail/schools/debt reduction) or 90/10 (jail/other), and an $80 wheel-tax rate was estimated to generate roughly $930,000 annually. Commissioners debated whether to adopt a local ordinance or send the measure to referendum, noting petition rules, an estimated 180-day timetable, and the political preference among surveyed constituents to vote on project-specific funding and to know sunset terms.
No formal vote or appropriation occurred in the work session. The commission asked staff to return with engineering reports, cost scenarios for the Broadway site (including courtrooms), and clearer financing numbers, with the intent to consider motion(s) at the regular meeting.
