County to look for different site for new jail

by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Staff Writer | September 3, 2021 1:03 AM

EPHRATA — Grant County officials will look for alternative sites for a new jail after the Port of Ephrata commissioners decided not to sell land on East Division Avenue to the county for the project.

Port commissioners decided Monday not to sell the land, which is adjacent to the county’s work release center at 1631 E. Division Ave. Commissioners announced the decision in a press release issued Tuesday.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said the decision was disappointing.

“A little bit of a setback, I think,” Jones said.

Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter said meetings with port commissioners and Ephrata city officials led her to think port commissioners might decide not to sell.

“They just were resistant to sell,” Carter said.

County officials originally asked to buy about 3 acres at the site, and in June told port officials they might be interested in approximately 3 additional acres. The county already owns about 3 acres at the site.

“Obviously we have to look at other options now,” said Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone.

“We look for a different spot,” Carter said.

Jones and the county commissioners will meet to discuss what comes next, Jones said.

The county does have enough land at the East Division Street site to build a jail, Jones said, but that would require demolishing the work release center. Carter said she’s not in favor of that.

“There are a lot of things we could use it (the work release center) for, so to tear it down doesn’t make a lot of sense,” she said.

The port press release stated the port had reached out to the county on other sites.

Carter said there was discussion of another site on port property, but it would require improvements, including utilities and a road.

Carter and Jones said county officials would prefer to keep the jail in Ephrata. It makes more sense to keep the jail close to Grant County Superior Court and other services, Carter said.

The Division Avenue property was the county’s preferred option among three recommended by a consulting firm, CRA Architects, of Tallahassee, Florida. The company was hired to review possible sites and narrowed the list to three. The others were the site of the existing jail, 35 C St. NW, Ephrata, and county-owned property on Randolph Road, north of Moses Lake.