Jail expansion slated to open in October

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

Kootenai County is locking up construction projects aimed at creating more space amid rapid population growth.

The $12 million, 30,000-square-foot jail expansion, which will increase the capacity of the facility from 327 to 441, is on budget and on schedule to open in early October, said Shawn Riley, the county's Buildings and Grounds director.

"The sheriff has been told that it will be his on Oct. 1," Riley said.

Meanwhile, the county opened its new $330,000, 1.13-acre Vehicle Licensing parking lot on Railroad Avenue in Post Falls on Monday that includes 10 pull-through recreational vehicle spaces for inspections and 22 other parking spaces.

"The main purpose is to get vehicle inspectors off the street to increase safety," said Riley, adding that the lot should also relieve congestion at the downtown courthouse campus.

Riley said the parking lot will also add options for the public when events are held in Post Falls' city center. The land was formerly owned by the Eagles and was acquired through a land swap with the city of Post Falls.

Both of the construction projects were paid out of the county's fund balance, so taxes will not be increased for those specific expenses.

Riley said time on the jail expansion was made up this summer after construction hit a roadblock last winter.

"The problem in the winter was trying to lay block in 10-degree weather," he said.

Sheriff's Office Capt. Kim Edmondson said 15 detention deputies and five control room operators will be needed to staff the jail expansion.

"We have hired all of the detention deputies and all but two of the control room operators," she said.

Edmondson said she believes there will be adequate staffing for the expansion by the time the facility opens.

"We are certainly hoping so and that is definitely the goal," she said.

Edmondson said that for a time, the department was having trouble hiring additional staff, making some wonder whether the expansion would open when construction ends.

"The unemployment rate is low, so it was difficult to recruit from an area with high employment," she said. "We had saturated our area with recruiting efforts and were coming up dry — not many people applying, and those few that did often had events in their backgrounds that disqualified them.

"We had to recruit in different areas. Not only did we send members of our recruitment team out to military bases and job fairs around the Northwest, we also contracted with Public Safety Testing who test for law enforcement positions all over the country. These methods helped us attract several great applicants."

Edmondson said some people doubted the office could hire 20 people in time.

"We have hired 21 detention deputies since Jan. 1," she said, adding that some of the hires were due to attrition.

Bonuses were approved later in the hiring process.

Lateral bonuses of $2,500, payable upon hiring, were approved for hiring laterals from outside agencies. Relocation bonuses of $2,500 were added for those candidates who moved to Kootenai County from areas 100 miles or farther.

One-time retention bonuses of $5,000 were offered as an incentive not to retire, keeping seasoned deputies in place for an extra year while the office trained all of the new hires.