Here we go again! Columbia County Commissioners along with the Sheriff's Department will try and finance a jail expansion with monies from housing federal inmates. The county figures on housing federal inmates at the tune of about $82 per day, right now the county is undercharging the feds for federal inmates at about $62 per day. Twenty dollars a day adds up to a reasonable sum at the end of the year, money that the taxpayers should be benefiting from, for the Sheriffs budget. The county has not kept up with inflation, the county has not re- visited their fee schedule since 2001, 7 years ago, I wonder how much revenue was lost because of the county's failure to perform, Typical Columbia County. If my memory serves me correctly, expecting inmates to provide a budget for the sheriffs department was tried once before and it failed. I believe Commissioner Tony Hyde had his fingers in that screw-up.
The inmates that the county was counting on were placed in another facility and the revenue was lost, and the sheriffs department experienced a huge shortfall. Like usual, something that we all have heard time after time, the county is talking about having the proverbial goose that lays the "Golden Egg". I would like to compare the county's goose to the category of fowl that would be more fitting to this county's realm of business ventures. I can visualize an Albatross rather than a Gold Egg laying Goose.
When I hear of a new business venture that the county is undertaking I immediately grab hold of my pocket book and hope for the best, but expects the worse. The county's wheeling and dealing at Port Westward has put the taxpayers into debt for about 36 million along with more money going to road improvements at Port Westward, the latest improvement or phase II is about 6 million not counting interest for the next 25 years.
Any way, back to their newest endeavor, I asked a few simple questions at a commissioners meeting a couple weeks ago about the jail expansion I was told that the expansion was a long way off, well needless to say I obtained the available paper work on the expansion project, (more coming) and found out, what I was told, was not entirely correct.
I was told that the expansion cost would be 18 million but that is not a solid figure at this time. (Total cost?)
"QUOTE": Construction is slated to begin in the summer of 2008 with a completion in late spring 2009 (Was told that construction would not begin until Dec 2008)
"QUOTE": This project is in on a very tight schedule, which will require the successful firm to commit the resources necessary to complete the project within the Columbia County's time frame.
(Not all contractors are qualified for this project, the county is using a special ORS to allow selecting of contractors, will be a negotiated contract)
"Quote": The project will be funded by a private loan institution loan. (No-one knows who, or how much)
The county wants to try and get a 15-year contract with the Feds or Portland/ Multnomah County that will ensure X amount of prisoners for the 15-year time frame and the so-called guaranteed number of inmates will pay off the debt. Sounds good, maybe, but so did the last proposal that failed. I am a bit leery of Columbia County and their schemes.
"QUOTE": This project is an approximately 60,000 square foot addition to the existing jail. It will more than double the capacity of the County Jail. The Columbia County Jail Addition expands the existing Justice Facility from one hundred ninety-five (195) beds to four hundred nineteen (419) beds. The Sheriff's administration area will expand with five (5) additional offices, a new shower/locker area and storage. Seventy-eight (78) parking spaces will be added to the site to accommodate additional visitor parking, and secured Sheriff's parking. The Jail Addition adds two hundred twenty-four (224) beds in eight (8) twenty-eight (28) bed-housing units in a floor/mezzanine housing module configuration. Supporting the housing units will be a single story connector between the exiting building and the housing module and will include intake functions, visitation, medical suite, program spaces, general building storage and mechanical/electrical spaces. The existing Jail laundry and kitchen will expand with new equipment within their existing footprints.

Design:
RFP Design advertise Feb. 15, 2008
Due date for RFP March 7, 2008
Review period for RFP March 10 - 13, 2008
Interviews for Design March 19, 2008
Award Contract for Design March 21, 2008
Working Drawings Completed May 30, 2008
Construction:
RFP for CMGC Advertise March 21, 2008
RFP for CMGC deadline April 11, 2008
Review Proposals April 15, 2008
Interviews .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .April 21, 2008
Award contract April 24, 2008
Contract complete May 2, 2008
GMP ............... June 6, 2008
Notice to proceed June 12, 2008
Project completion April 1, 2009
My question is why would the Feds want to house prisoners here? Why build a new facility? Portland has a brand new jail that is just sitting empty why not utilize that jail? It would be closer to the Federal Courthouse, is Columbia County Sheriff's department going to be in the transporting business To Portland? Will that service be a separate charge? What if this business venture fails how much is it going to cost the taxpayers to pay off the incurred debt? These questions need to be asked and answered directly by the commissioners. There needs to be some kind of safe guards written into the contract to protect the taxpayers of this county from being burdened with the debt if the plan does not pan out.
Here is another thought, the Home Land/ FBI firing range down by the chemical plant at Deer Island is now on hold because there is a shortage of federal funds, Hmm, I believe the County and Sheriffs Department had a contract with the Feds there also.
Is that Goose straining to lay that Golden Egg? I think so!
I will continue to keep track of any new developments on this issue and keep you up-to-date.

Here are the minutes that state the county did not want to answer my questions
on the jail and where the money will come from "separate issue:" Commissioner
Hyde"

HEARING: CM/GC PROCESS - CONTRACTOR FOR JAIL EXPANSION PROJECT:
This is the time set for the hearing to solicit public input on the use of the CM/GC process for  the selection of the Contractor for the Jail Expansion project.