Ephrata group to review recommendations for Grant County Jail site

EPHRATA — A committee of Ephrata residents will meet next week to evaluate two possible sites for the new Grant County Jail, which is among the first steps in the city’s requirement.

Grant County voters approved a request in 2019 for a three-tenths of 1% sales tax increase to pay for a new jail.

The Grant County commissioners voted March 2 to accept the recommendation from the county’s law and justice council to build the new jail near the site of the existing work release center, 1631 E. Division Ave.

An architectural firm hired by the county, CRA Architects of Tallahassee, Florida, evaluated possible sites around the county and identified multiple options, two of which are in Ephrata and will be evaluated. The municipal committee also will evaluate the second site, next to the current county jail, 35 C St. NW.

Dan Leavitt, community development director for the city of Ephrata, said the city’s comprehensive plan requires a review for “essential public services.”

Under state law, the city doesn’t have the ability to deny the site request, or to dictate which site is chosen, Leavitt said. The city can require mitigation and put reasonable conditions on the project, he said.

The Ephrata citizen committee will rank the two sites, evaluate them for any potential issues and consider the potential impact on city services.

Once that process is complete, city officials will schedule a public hearing.

Officials from other jurisdictions throughout the county will get a chance to provide reaction also.

“It’s a county jail,” Leavitt said, and Ephrata officials are interested in the reaction from other jurisdictions.

The date for the public hearing hasn’t been determined, he said. But state law requires the city’s process to be completed without “unreasonable delay,” he said.