Board endorses firm for juvenile lockup
SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners agreed on Tuesday to recommend that Ormand Builders Inc. be awarded the contract to build a new juvenile detention facility.
Five construction firms submitted design/build proposals for a $4 million facility with at least 28 beds.
A review committee composed of county justice officials, Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood, Priest River Police Chief Ray Roberts and Lisa Hals of the Lake Pend Oreille School District developed a short list of top-three contenders. The clear winner was Ormand, said Kevin Monsey of Monsey Construction Consulting Service, the Liberty Lake, Wash., company hired to guide the county’s effort to establish a new facility.
“Their price was at or under budget,” said Monsey, who told commissioners Ormand also came highly recommended by other counties which had done business with the Idaho Falls firm.
Debbie Stallcup, director of justice services in Bonner County, said Ormand’s proposal also provided the most flexibility as the county’s needs grow over time.
“This has the best plan for how to expand the facility,” she said.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the Panhandle Area Council, which is considering a lease-to-purchase arrangement for the facility and the land it will occupy. The council helps local governments finance public works projects.
The county hopes to fashion a 15-year agreement with PAC that has no penalty for an early payoff. If the pact gains traction, PAC would purchase a 2-acre parcel off Great Northern Road near the Woodland Drive intersection.
With land acquisition and design fees, county officials estimate the total cost of the project to reach $4.6 million.
Voters resoundingly defeated a ballot measure for a $6.6 million facility in 2009 and a previous $12 million lease/purchase proposal in 2008 was rejected by a district judge.
The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections is no longer willing to certify the existing facility — a converted residence — because of structural and design deficiencies. It, however, remains operational and insured because a solution to the dilemma could be imminent.
If the latest plan falls through, youthful offenders would have to be held at a regional facility in Kootenai County. Along with hefty transportation and boarding costs, juveniles would have less access to family and schooling.
Excess bed space at a new facility could be shared with other jurisdictions and generate some revenue.
“That’s going to help Boundary County. It’s going to help us save money,” said Commission Chairman Joe Young. Commissioner Lewis Rich also supports the latest proposal.
Mike Nielsen, who defeated Young for the GOP nomination and faces former Commissioner Brian Orr in the general election, agrees there is a need for a new facility, but still believes it should go back before voters or be funded through budget reserves.
“I would like to see the county purchase it outright rather than take a lease.
Mel Davis, a Democrat running against Rich in the general, also sees a need for a local facility that keeps family and scholastic ties intact.
“It benefits this community and the children we have an obligation to,” she said.