Construction cost for new Grant Co. Jail finalized by late July

EPHRATA — The actual cost of the new Grant County Jail should be finalized around the end of July. County officials are forecasting it will come in below the guaranteed maximum price of $131.56 million. 

Grant County Central Services Director Tom Gaines said Tuesday that the final cost analysis was delayed because not all the components of the project have gone out for bid yet.

“We know we should be below what we signed,” Gaines said. 

The guaranteed maximum price means the cost paid by the owner, in this case Grant County, will not exceed the contracted amount. The contractor pays any amount over the GMP. It was approved by Grant County Commissioners in May. 

The GMP was more than originally anticipated, said Commissioner Cindy Carter at a groundbreaking ceremony June 20.

Commissioners issued $90 million in limited general obligation bonds in 2022. County voters approved a three-tenths of one percent increase in the county sales tax in 2019 to pay for law and justice projects, including the new jail. County officials are still evaluating ways to pay for the difference. Carter gave credit to county officials and employees for their work on the project, especially Gaines.

“A lot of teamwork, a lot of people, but Tom was the one that, kind of behind the scenes, was always working on this,” she said. 

The GMP covers construction costs only. Other expenses, like sales tax and furniture, building fixtures, meeting land use requirements and other parts of the project are not included. Those are called “soft costs” and Gaines said in an earlier interview that typically they are equal to about 20 to 30% of construction costs. 

The goal in the bidding process is to minimize the number of change orders, he said.

The jail is under construction at the intersection of Nat Washington Way and State Route 282, already a busy intersection. Washington Department of Transportation officials have said the state will require a roundabout at that intersection. The intersection is on a list of roundabouts the DOT plans to build, but a construction date has not been scheduled. As a result, it will be constructed by Grant County. The DOT, however, will pay part of the cost, Gaines said.

County officials have hired an architect to design the project, he said, and met with DOT officials Monday to discuss the anticipated work. The goal is to start construction in March or April 2025.

Part of the process, he said, is a public information campaign. 

“We have to do a public outreach event,” Gaines said, but the date and the format haven’t been determined. 

The cost of the roundabout hasn’t been determined. County officials have been using an estimate of $4 million, and Gaines said he thought that would be the maximum price, but it could be anywhere from $2 to $4 million. 

“(Construction) prices are all over the place,” he said.

The jail was the site of the old Ephrata Raceway, and Carter said her family spent many weekends at the track back in the day.

“My dad used to race,” she said. “So we would come here during race season every Saturday night.”

Pieces of the old track were made available when the raceway was demolished, and Carter said Gaines had saved a piece for her dad. 

“I have a lot of history here,” she said. “So it’s exciting to see this.”

Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete said former Sheriff Tom Jones and GCSO staff started working on the project in 2017. 

“(Jones) was the guy that said, ‘Let’s do this Let’s move forward.’ He’s the one that put his neck on the line and got us where we are today,” Kriete said. “So Sheriff, thank you.”

He also gave credit to former Sheriff Ryan Rectenwald, who was appointed as sheriff after Jones resigned before the end of his term. 

 Kriete said the time had come to replace the existing jail. 

“The existing facilities have served us well, but our county has grown so our needs have completely changed,” he said. 

The new facility can be expanded up to 512 beds, Carter said, and will have enough room for the GCSO and Grant County Emergency Management as well as the jail. 

“Hopefully it serves us for a good 25 years or more,” Carter said. 

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.