Ephrata council considers two possible new jail sites

EPHRATA — For its next jail, Grant County is looking at two sites in Ephrata.

According to Bill Cox, a building official with the city of Ephrata, Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones is looking at building an annex to the current jail either on nearly one acre behind the county’s existing Law and Justice Complex, or on roughly six acres the county owns near the Work Release Center out at the Port of Ephrata.

Both sites are within the Ephrata city limits.

The new jail is planned as part of a countywide, 0.3 percent sales tax approved by Grant County voters and earmarked solely for law enforcement and criminal justice.

Speaking at a regular city council meeting Thursday, Cox said that both sites under consideration have problems. First, neither is zoned for a jail, so the city council would need to rezone whatever site the county selects.

As for the site behind the courthouse, Cox said that under current regulations, new critical facilities are not allowed in Ephrata’s flood plain “unless there is no other option.”

Cox said the existing jail cannot be expanded or added to. However, Cox said if the county decides to build behind the current jail, it is looking at building a modular, single-level pod-type jail that could hold up to 276 prisoners and could be expanded at a later date.

Building a new jail behind the current one would also mean destroying a number of parking lots needed to keep the Grant County Courthouse in compliance with city zoning rules, Cox said. The county would need to find replacement parking as well as new parking spots for the new jail’s employees and visitors, he explained.

However, if the city decides to build at the port, Cox noted the potential loss of business downtown, security issues transporting prisoners to and from court and the fact that released prisoners would have to walk through a residential neighborhood to get downtown.

“There are no eateries at the port to support it,” he said.

Cox said the city and the county have formed a joint committee to explore both sites, and that the county is hoping to decide which site “makes sense” soon.

In order to change zoning in any part of the city, the Ephrata City Council would first have to solicit public comment on any proposal in a public hearing.

Jones said when campaigning for the sales tax last year that it would bring in roughly $6 million each year, with around $2.3 million of that going to cities and the county using the rest.

County commissioners have talked of issuing a bond, to be repaid with the sales tax revenue, to build the estimated $40 million to $60 million jail. A bond issued in this way would not require voter approval.

Council member Matt Moore, who sits on the joint committee, said the sheriff is not looking to build an entirely new Law and Justice Center, and that it is his understanding Jones appreciates the “advantages” of having the jail attached to the county’s court complex.

“I don’t think he is looking to move law and justice to a new place,” Moore said. “The courthouse is the center of the whole town, and it would be hugely disruptive to move it to the outskirts of town.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.