County to consider driver's license office in Post Falls

COEUR d'ALENE — As Kootenai County improves or expands its facilities, bringing a satellite driver's license office back to Post Falls has been added to the mix of possibilities.

Shawn Riley, Kootenai County's building and grounds director, said including a driver's license bureau in the planned DMV expansion in Post Falls will be discussed during today's board of commissioners meeting at 2:30 p.m.

"The idea recently popped up," Riley said. "Coeur d'Alene is overcrowded and the parking is tight, so the thought is to free up space with the ultimate goal of making it better for the customers to come in."

The county's Post Falls location on Railroad Avenue formerly had a driver's license bureau before it was eliminated. The site is currently occupied by DMV and veterans services.

The planned building expansion — fueled by tight quarters on the Coeur d'Alene campus, including for RV parking — would double the size to 3,000 square feet. Riley said that, if the driver's license office is added, it could make the building about 2,200 square feet.

Commissioner Marc Eberlein said he supports giving re-opening a driver's license bureau in Post Falls a hard look because it would reduce parking and wait time issues on the Coeur d'Alene campus.

Architects West was chosen as the architect for the expansion project out of six bidders. A cost for the contract, like with all the county's building projects being planned this spring, will be negotiated within the next three to four weeks, Riley said.

The Post Falls DMV project will also include paving a new parking lot to the west of the building to accommodate RVs.

Construction is scheduled for next year. Commissioners earlier set aside $750,000 for the project, but Riley said the actual construction cost will likely be less after the architect determines the actual cost.

All of the county's building projects getting underway will be funded with a portion of a $37 million fund balance the county has accumulated. Therefore, the projects will not raise taxes nor will they require a public vote.

Of the fund balance, which has been accumulated over the years with unspent property taxes and interest from fee-based funds such as solid waste, $10 million of it has been set aside in case of an emergency. In some previous years, a portion of the fund balance has been used for the General Fund so that property taxes weren't raised.

The county's first building project to be completed will be evidence storage improvements at the sheriff's office, including remodeling an area inside the office, constructing a pole barn for vehicle processing and remodeling a portion of the work release center.

Riley said the evidence storage areas at the sheriff's office are outdated and they are not big enough for proper storage.

H2A Architects of Coeur d'Alene was chosen as the architect. Riley said the remodel inside the sheriff's office and of the work release center will be completed this year with the pole barn possibly being constructed next year.

A total of $300,000 was set aside for the three evidence projects.

The county also chose H2A to perform a feasibility study this year for adding a third floor to the justice building on Garden Avenue that would be 12,000 square feet.

"That floor would have courtrooms, judges chambers and clerical offices. No funding has been committed to the project, pending the results of the study.

The county earlier chose LCA Architects of Boise to develop a cost estimate and scope of work to add between 100 and 250 "hard cells" at the jail to house felons, a new maintenance shop and 25 to 30 medical beds to house inmates who are sick, in need of a psychological evaluation or going through withdrawals.

LCA will be working in conjunction with Longwell Trapp Architects of Hayden on the project.

Commissioners committed $14 million toward the jail expansion construction project.

Riley said the county expects to find out the construction cost for the project before the end of summer. He said the county will decide whether to proceed with construction after a design and cost estimate are determined.

Other facilities such as in Nez Perce and Bonner counties in Idaho and Idaho and Ferry counties in Washington hold 25 to 50 inmates on any given day who have committed crimes in Kootenai County.

The county has done little in terms of building improvements since 1997, Riley said. The ancillary building that houses the building and grounds on Garden Avenue across from the justice building along with parking lots nearby were completed in 2014. The county also acquired the former federal courthouse downtown in 2010 for its juvenile justice center.

The county is also exploring a shared 140-lot parking area with the city of Coeur d'Alene across Northwest Boulevard from its campus to alleviate parking congestion. The agencies plan to share the planning cost. The city owns the property and the county would likely fund the construction.

A pedestrian overpass and a signalized at-grade pedestrian crossing and the costs of each improvement would all be evaluated to provide a safe method for crossing the busy road.