Inmates help build GCSO's new office

Tight budget forces county to spurn construction companies and build it on its own

MOSES LAKE — With in-house help, the Grant County Sheriff's Office is putting up their new digs.

Inmates from the Grant County Jail have been aiding in the construction of a new substation for the GCSO in the Larson Subdivision, next door to where the existing substation is.

Grant County Sheriff Frank De Trolio said that the reason the city decided to work with prison inmates instead of a construction company was because the bids coming in from companies were higher than what the county could afford.

"Local construction companies said 'hey, you can't do that (work with inmates),' 'that's a no-no,'" De Trolio said. However, the tight budget in the county led to a decision with a long story behind it.

When De Trolio was running for office, the county had plans in place for a building at a different location. This building would contain a sheriff substation, a juvenile detention center and the county coroner's office. All for a cool $2.3 million.

De Trolio was elected and he voiced his displeasure with the plan. "There would be too many people around with the three things in one building," he said. "I did not want to move."

At the suggestion of the Grant County Commissioners, architectural bids were requested, all coming in above and beyond the $2.3 million price tag, so it was back to square one. An unpleasant-looking square one, at that.

"Our current building was a pig pen," he said of the sheriff's office substation near Big Bend Community College. "It was falling down around us."

Remodeling and using modules were briefly considered as options, then discarded, as the price tag was higher than that for a new building.

Hence the decision to go with inmates. The new building being constructed will have a training facility, an office and a boat shop, for a more reasonable price, De Trolio added, closer to $150,000.

The construction of the new building in the area adjacent to the Larson Subdivision has many unspoken benefits, De Trolio said. First, it continues a law enforcement presence in a highly residential neighborhood.

Second, once the office opens, it will offer certain services that will not make it necessary for people to travel to Ephrata to get them, such as fingerprint cards and weapon permits.

Third, once the office opens, it will likely need the help of volunteers to keep things running, increasing community involvement in the area, especially, De Trolio said, from retirees.

Lastly, it gives inmates a chance to try their hand at improving their construction skills, a progressive gamble at rehabilitation.

"Some of these guys are good builders," De Trolio said.

The new building is expected to be finished within the next three months.