The Asotin County Jail has reached pressure cooker status.

Safety and liability issues are evident throughout a building that’s “old, outdated, too small and falling apart,” said Jail Commander Jim Smith.

Multiple inmates are crammed into cells designed for one or two people, and some are sleeping on the floor near toilets. Stress and anxiety levels are sky high, and mounting tension is leading to more assaults, Smith said.

The deteriorating building is a constant challenge for the jail staff. Every day, the county’s 12 corrections officers deal with broken equipment and must figure out new ways to keep everyone inside safe and at peace for another 24 hours, he said.

“The doors, locks, cameras and just about everything else in here needs to be replaced,” Smith said on a recent tour. “And because of the jail’s capacity, we can’t house a lot of people who have committed crimes and should be incarcerated.”

Lack of space and outdated equipment are just two of the most obvious problems that have been on a jail advisory committee’s radar for the past 18 months. The group of law enforcement, elected officials and residents studied all of the jail issues before determining the best fix is starting from scratch.

Building a bigger county jail with all of the latest safety enhancements is more feasible than expanding the current facility, officials said, and the best way to pay for it is a 0.3 percent sales tax increase dedicated exclusively to a new jail.

They are hoping Asotin County voters agree with their plan when ballots go out for the November election.

“We have looked at remodeling this jail, but the problems with that are immense,” Smith said. “It would be a Band-Aid at best, and would not fix the long-term problems. There’s no room to grow to the west, east, north or the south. The laundry and kitchen and property storage areas were all built for 16 people, and the only way to expand those would take even more beds away from inmates, so we’re defeating the purpose. We can’t add more floors, because the structure is not designed for that load. We’d also have to move inmates out if any construction was done here, and the expense would be astronomical.”

Ideally, the commander would like to see a 200-bed jail constructed in the near future, but he knows the size will depend on how much money is available.

“The budget and architectural designs will obviously play a role in what we end up with,” Smith said. “Our main goal is to get as many beds as possible. We can’t finalize the size and staffing needs until we know how much money we’ll have.”

Where will the money come from?

A lot of numbers have been thrown around, but officials say the bottom line is the proposed sales tax increase will bring in enough money to cover payments on a $13.7 million bond. The annual bond payment is estimated at about $891,000.

“This has confused some folks, so I want to be clear that we are talking about a sales tax, not a property tax,” Commissioner Jim Jeffords said. “Our bond attorney said we can afford $13.7 million over 30 years, and now is a good time to do it.”

If the sales tax passes, the cost to shoppers in Asotin County would amount to 3 cents on every $10 purchase. The current sales tax rate in unincorporated areas of Asotin County and the city of Asotin is 7.7 percent, and the increase would boost it to 8 percent. In the city of Clarkston, where most retail shopping is located, the sales tax rate is currently at 7.9 percent and would go to 8.2 percent, if the ballot proposal is approved by more than 50 percent of the voters.

In the current economy, the extra 0.3 percent would bring in about $1.1 million a year. However, Jeffords said he’s been using conservative estimates in case retail sales go down in the future.

The advisory committee also found data that indicates about 59 percent of purchases in Asotin County are made by consumers who live in outlying areas. The people who visit Clarkston to shop at popular stores such as Walmart and Costco would be helping foot the bill of the jail, Jeffords said.

The rest of the funding pie relies on renting out bed space to other agencies, such as the Washington State Department of Corrections, federal agencies, Nez Perce Tribe and some neighboring counties. All have expressed interest in housing inmates at a new Asotin County Jail, Jeffords said.

Residents have spoken in support of a new jail and proposed sales tax, but many have made it clear they don’t want the county to come back in a few years and ask for more money.

“We will only build what we can afford,” Jeffords told about 80 residents at the most recent town hall meeting.

Not another aquatics center, please

Attorney Trae Turner, who has worked for Clarkston and Asotin County prosecutors and serves on the advisory panel, acknowledged the Asotin County Family Aquatic Center is “the elephant in the room” when seeking voter approval for a new jail.

“We know the aquatic center has caused trust issues,” Turner said. “We know there were screwups, and stakeholders who helped sell the project felt left out after the doors opened. They didn’t have ongoing discussions with the community, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

In 2001, Asotin County voters were asked to approve a property tax increase to build the center, which opened in 2004. At the time, consultants predicted the outdoor water park and indoor pools would break even or become a moneymaker, but the complex turned out to be a steady drain on county coffers.

To offset the shortfalls, the county has a 0.3 percent sales tax in place and a non-voter approved bond that go toward the aquatic center. In addition, Asotin County voters approved a new junior taxing district in 2013 and an additional 0.2 percent sales tax increase to keep the doors open.

In 2012, when the city of Clarkston said it could no longer afford to transfer its annual contribution from the 0.3 percent sales tax to help operate the center, many community members were outraged. Those feelings continue to surface whenever an interlocal agreement is mentioned.

Turner said the aquatic center agreement was based on a handshake with Asotin County and lacked any formal paperwork. In contrast, interlocal agreements on the jail were written by an attorney and unanimously approved by both Asotin and Clarkston city councils.

“It’s not like the aquatic center,” Turner said. “This is more than just a handshake deal. Everyone has bought into this, and we’re really happy with how the cities and county have worked together on the jail issue. Everyone has put their money where their mouths are.”

Some questions unanswered

With Election Day nearing, the committee is working hard to convince voters to pass the sales tax so money for design and construction can begin accruing.

“One thing everyone agrees on is we need to do something,” Turner said. “We have no other options. We have to pass the sales tax in order to address this issue. We are in a criminal justice crisis.”

Turner said the group realizes they don’t have answers to every question, but they are listening to community feedback and trying to deal with concerns before the ballots go out.

The proposed location near Sixth Avenue and Evans Road has been drawing the most heat at recent town hall meetings. Clarkston Heights residents are worried about safety, property values and increased traffic, and they don’t want prisoners released from jail and walking through their neighborhoods.

Turner said the Sixth Avenue property in the Heights is the “Goldilocks” site because the acreage is already owned by the county, there’s enough room to expand in the future and it has infrastructure for utilities. However, the committee is willing to look at other locations and plans to meet with Port of Clarkston officials this week to discuss options, he said. The port owns Turning Pointe, an industrial park near Evans Road with vacant acreage and utilities.

The jail commander said he hopes Lewiston-Clarkston Valley’s flood plain is taken into consideration during the search for a building site. In Smith’s opinion, it would be irresponsible to build a new jail in an area that would be affected if Dworshak Dam ever fails.

“If that ever happens, evacuating inmates in an emergency situation and finding long-term housing would be major concerns,” Smith said.

When it comes to location, Clarkston Police Chief Joel Hastings said he’s worked next door to the current facility for almost 32 years and hasn’t seen any problems. The jail is near family homes, a library and schools, with kids walking by every day, he said. Some of the neighborhood youngsters even stop by the jail lobby to use the vending machines.

“It has had minimal impact in that neighborhood,” Hastings said.

After researching the issue for months, the committee members are convinced a new jail needs to be built somewhere as soon as possible.

“If this sales tax doesn’t pass, we can make a second attempt during the primary or general election next year,” Jeffords said. “What we can’t do is keep kicking the can down the road.”

Sandaine may be contacted at kerris@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2264. Follow her on Twitter @newsfromkerri.