Fife authorizes jail-services agreement with Puyallup Tribe after council questions on scope

The City of Fife on Feb. 10 approved a memorandum of agreement (Resolution No. 2238) with the Puyallup Tribe to allow certain arrestees to be housed at the Puyallup Tribal Restorative Correctional Facility.

Chief Doug Newman presented the agreement, saying it creates a lawful housing option for misdemeanor pretrial arrestees who are Puyallup tribal members or members of other federally recognized tribes when appropriate and lawful. He said the MOA sets clear roles for transportation, medical care, booking and release procedures and billing; Puyallup tribal members housed there would be at no cost to the City of Fife while non-tribal members would be billed the agreed daily rate.

Judge Ringuis raised a question about limiting the agreement to pretrial inmates and noted that post‑sentence jurisdiction and sanctions can require housing decisions; the judge asked whether tribal members who plead guilty or are sentenced could later be housed at the tribal facility. Chief Newman and other staff answered that the agreement includes references to incarcerated and sentenced individuals and that Chief Joe Duenas of the Puyallup facility has indicated willingness to house post‑sentenced individuals in discussion, so the option exists but the city retains custodial responsibility and will make joint decisions in individual cases.

Council discussed clarifying the language and the city attorney and staff noted that some contract fields (for example, preferred communication contacts) would be filled in before execution. Councilmember Holsey expressed a desire to hold the item to capture additional clarifications, but the motion to adopt the resolution passed 6-1.

The resolution was framed by staff as strengthening an intergovernmental partnership, improving cultural appropriateness of detention for tribal members, and providing fiscal predictability for the city.