New on-site jail projected to cost $74M

The consultants who studied the feasibility and cost of building a new jail on the Flathead County campus say there’s good news and bad news for such a project.

The good news is that the area surrounding the Justice Center could accommodate a 260-bed jail and accompanying three-story parking garage, LCA Architects Managing Partner Russ Moorhead said. The bad news is that it’s considerably more expensive — as much as $74 million by 2020 — and there’s no room for future expansion.

Moorhead and Gary Levine of Spectrum Group Architects presented their analysis to the county commissioners on Tuesday, explaining potential options and cost estimates for both on-site and off-site options. The two firms were hired to conduct an analysis as the commissioners determine how to move forward with a new jail. The existing jail in the Justice Center has been overcrowded for decades.

“The premise of the study was to determine whether a 260-bed new facility could fit on the existing site,” Moorhead said.

To build a roughly 59,000-square-foot new jail next to the Justice Center, 10th Street would have to be abandoned, and the Courthouse West building that houses the Treasurer’s Office would have to be removed and replaced elsewhere. That building replacement is figured into the overall cost, at $4.5 million.

The overall $73.98 million price tag for a new on-site jail also includes the conversion of the existing jail space into more room for the county and district courts, a project that is ballparked at $7.3 million.

The jail building itself, a ground-level facility, is projected to cost about $28.7 million.

“It’s a pretty efficient layout, so operationally it’s less expensive to run, rather than a multilevel jail,” Moorhead said. “Transporting inmates up and down elevators creates staff to carry that movement. We generally plan on at least another full-time equivalent of five employees for the life of [a multistory] facility.”

The parking garage, which would displace 60 existing parking spaces but yield 80 cars per floor in a three-story parking garage, would cost about $7.2 million.

Non-construction costs, including a 7.5 percent construction contingency, furniture and equipment, and architectural and engineering costs, total about $14.5 million. And a 10 percent escalation estimate for a 2020 construction start date adds another $6.7 million to the overall cost.

It’s generally more expensive to build on the county campus because there are no staging areas, Moorhead said.

The consultants also were asked to provide a cost analysis of building a jail off-site on a 10-acre parcel. One option includes the relocation of the Sheriff’s Office to the new jail site — that option is projected to cost $66.8 million with a 2020 construction start date. A second off-site option leaves the Sheriff’s Office where it currently is in the Justice Center. That option is estimated at $53.8 million.

The off-site analysis includes a 10-acre purchase at an estimated $60,000 per acre, for a cost of $600,000.

“We made an assumption city water and sewer” would be connected to an off-site jail, Moorhead said. Accounting for infrastructure would be the next phase of study if the county were to move forward with an off-site jail.

Operating a jail away from the Justice Center would create additional staffing needs, the consultants pointed out. Sheriff Chuck Curry estimated it would take an additional five employees to transport prisoners back and forth between the jail and courtrooms.

But an off-site jail has the advantage of future expansion, Moorhead noted.

The presentation gave the commissioners a lot of food for thought.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell said big decisions such as where to build a new jail “are hard.”

“We have to try to be visionary for 50 years,” Mitchell said. “Do we continue to look on-site or do we look off-site? There are a lot of costs to be downtown and no room for expansion. I struggle, is that good for long-term planning?”

Mitchell further said if the money were available he’d prefer both the jail and Sheriff’s Office off-site. He acknowledged that no matter where a new jail is planned “it will be hard enough to pass [a bond issue], period.”

A temporary solution to jail overcrowding was put in place last year when the county spent $1.64 million to convert the second floor of the Justice Center into jail space.

The county has been saving money for the past few years and has about $7 million set aside for a new jail. The county’s five-year capital improvement plan includes $50 million for a new jail, but anticipates asking voters to support a $37 million bond.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.