HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Committee of the Whole April 28 20151 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Special Committee of the Whole
3
4 April 28, 2015
5
6 CALL TO ORDER
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8 Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. in the Council
9 Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
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12 ROLL CALL
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14 Present: Barbara Brenner, Pete Kremen, Ken Mann, Satpal Sidhu, Carl Weimer,
15 Rud Browne and Barry Buchanan.
16 Absent: None.
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19 COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
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21 1. EXECUTIVE LOUWS TO UPDATE COUNCIL ON THE NEW JAIL PROJECT
22 (AB2015 -047F)
23
24 Jack Louws, County Executive, stated Lynden, Nooksack, Blaine, and Sumas have
25 approved the jail use interlocal agreement. They are also bringing forward a discussion
26 about a criminal justice diversion task force resolution. There is a draft proposal for an
27 initiative regarding jail diversion and responses to a list of Council questions. It's evident
28 they will not make the August ballot.
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30 Weimer stated there was a public hearing on the jail proposal two weeks ago.
31 Everyone knows they need to move forward on the jail. They also heard that they need to
32 take a systemwide look at jail diversion. He worked with the Executive to address those
33 two messages. They will discuss the formation of a new task force.
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35 Tyler Schroeder, Executive's Office, submitted handouts (on file) and read through
36 the memo to the Council from Executive Louws in response to Council questions regarding
37 the new jail proposal, dated April 23, 2015 and a letter from the Sheriff to Executive Louws
38 dated April 23, 2015 regarding perspective on issues raised by the County Council relating
39 to the proposed replacement jail and Sheriff's headquarters project.
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41 Mann stated he would like more detail on the cost differences between the new
42 Whatcom County jail and the new Skagit County jail. Schroeder stated the differences are
43 mostly about the cost escalation between construction now and in two years, higher
44 contingencies, and higher wetland mitigation costs. He will ask the DLR Group to provide
45 that specific cost breakdown between the two facilities.
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47 Brenner asked if one of the major cost differences is wetland mitigation. Schroeder
48 stated it is.
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50 Sidhu stated the cost seems to be about $150,000 per bed for the Skagit County jail
51 and $186,000 for the Whatcom County jail. There has to be some other difference besides
52 wetlands. He would like to understand the substantial difference.
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54 Louws stated 521 beds divided by $97 million is $186,000 per bed. However, add
55 the additional 138 beds they may expand to plus their cost of $3.5 million. That brings the
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 1
1 total per bed cost down to $156,000. Whatcom County is providing all the core
2 infrastructure, such as the medical facilities and kitchen, that will allow the facility to expand
3 in the future when needed. Skagit County is not front - loading any of their infrastructure.
4 Their next expansion will be extremely expensive.
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6 Browne asked if there has been any discussion with Skagit County about combining
7 the two facilities.
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9 Dewey Desler, Executive's Office, stated there have been processes to look at
10 consolidation and combined services with the Skagit County jail. However, it's important to
11 maintain a close association with the justice system in the population center. The Skagit
12 County administration anticipates that its cost will be ten percent more than estimated.
13 They'll know the cost better when they receive their construction bids in a few weeks. DLR
14 Group indicated the two facilities are using the same design and same kind of materials.
15 The square footage costs for both facilities are close, except Whatcom County has wetland
16 mitigation issues and higher contingency and construction cost escalation figures.
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18 Mann stated he would like DLR to answer whether Whatcom County would save
19 millions of dollars if it scales back the project to not plan for the future. Schroeder stated
20 they will discuss the square footage costs for each component of the jail, including cells,
21 medical facility, and administration. He will ask how much the cost savings will be if they
22 scale back by a certain square footage.
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24 Brenner stated they have heard two cost estimates: $97 million and $122 million.
25 She asked why there is a difference. Schroeder stated the $122.5 million includes the
26 $18.5 million for the Sheriff's Office headquarters and the $7 million for the property
27 purchase. The property purchase price is removed from the bond price. There is no change
28 in the original cost estimates presented to Council.
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30 Browne stated the jail is designed to accommodate people who are pre - trail, going
31 through a trial, and people who have been sentenced. Explore an option for having a small
32 facility for pre -trial and short -term inmates, and work with the Council on longer -term
33 sentencing.
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35 Schroeder continued to reference the memo from the Executive and letter from the
36 Sheriff answering Council questions. The letter from the Sheriff also lists the work that has
37 been done on this project since 1999. He recommends that the councilmembers read the
38 document in detail because it answers many of their questions.
39
40 Weimer stated the information clearly says the existing jail isn't appropriate for use
41 as a jail. He asked if it's structurally appropriate for another use, such as a triage center or
42 administrative offices if it were remodeled. Schroeder stated he's not aware of any specific
43 study that recognizes that option. While moving forward, the administration can look into
44 it. He guesses that it may cost more to remodel the building than to demolish it and rebuild
45 on the site.
46
47 Louws referenced statements about the building from the Department of Justice and
48 HDR, Inc. architect, which indicate that major work needs to be done on that facility,
49 regardless of the future use. If they use the building, it must be brought up to code,
50 including seismic code. The professional recommendation is that there is no logical use for
51 the building, and it needs to come down.
52
53 Weimer stated many school buildings are being retrofit for seismic things, and
54 they've decided it's cheaper to retrofit than to rebuild. He asked if there has been a
55 structural analysis of the building to know whether it can be reused. Schroeder stated the
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 2
1 2003 HDR, Inc. report analyzed whether or not they can add on to the existing jail. The
2 report indicated that any building upgrades should be done only for short -term, operational,
3 and life safety fixes. Large expenditures aren't recommended, and the structure is not a
4 candidate for reuse. If the Council wishes, they can do additional work on that. Many
5 decisions have already been made and much information is already on the record that
6 indicate a remodel is not prudent.
7
8 Brenner stated she agrees that the building couldn't be reused for staff. She asked if
9 it can be used for storage. She would like to know what the County would do with jail space
10 if restorative justice works, and they have a drop in jail population. Don't import inmates.
11 The Executive indicated the extra space could be used for storage and for expanding social
12 services.
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14 Schroeder referenced the resolution regarding the jail use agreement and the
15 resolution establishing a task force (on file).
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17 Desler described the efforts made during the last two weeks on the two proposed
18 resolutions. Many staff and departments have been talking about better outcomes to
19 reduce the number of people with mental illness and chemical dependency from overusing
20 emergency services and who frequent the jail. They developed a resolution that includes a
21 clear statement of policy about developing a series of objectives. It also proposes
22 establishing a substantial task force with a significant number of key objectives. A lot of
23 work will be done with professional assistance. It's a substantial focused effort to divert
24 people from excessive use of the jail. It would be implemented with specific milestones.
25
26 Browne stated this is a great start. He's not sure it goes far enough. The solution to
27 diverting people from entering the criminal justice system includes more than triage. For
28 example, they need to look at whether there are laws on the books that shouldn't be there,
29 which would trigger a criminal act, such as the City of Bellingham's regulation making it
30 illegal to sit on the sidewalk. A question is whether they look at the bail bond requirements
31 that result in people being incarcerated because they are unable to pay a bail bond. It's a
32 good first step. He would like to broaden the mandate. Desler stated the initial focus is on
33 people with mental illness and chemical dependency. The document includes a number of
34 statements about reducing the number of people who cycle through the jail repeatedly.
35 These people are chronic misdemeanants. They need programs, support, and policy
36 changes. The task force is designed to address these things. It's not just about diverting
37 people from jail. It's also about increasing programs for the number of folks who have
38 moved through the jail to become more productive in society, such as housing programs.
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40 Brenner stated they need a subcommittee or a separate committee made up of the
41 County and City officials to go through the codes. People she talked to are interested in
42 doing that.
43
44 Sidhu stated the task force must be goal- oriented. The key to the success of the
45 task force's objectives is to also know the assured operating costs for a facility into the
46 future. Make the operating cost part of the budget so services are sure to continue. Desler
47 stated the Council will have a detailed plan from the task force by October. It's not just
48 about the details of a triage center. It's about having appropriate policies and developing a
49 sustainable budget for the program over time. A number of different parties will have to
50 work together, including the Cities.
51
52 Weimer stated they would like some of this information before meeting as the Board
53 of Health. They need to bring the Cities in on these discussions. There seems to be a
54 reverse incentive built into the jail proposal. If they are successful in diverting people,
55 especially people in the cities, it's not good for the County. However, the costs of the jail
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 3
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are fixed costs. As the cities' number of bed nights at the jail decreases, the more jail cost
the County will pay. He would like to know if there is a way to build an incentive for
diversion and whether they can get a good look at jail operating costs now and in the
future. At some point, staff and costs must be flexible according to the number of inmates.
Desler stated it makes sense to always communicate with City governments. The
County has been working on a lot of information on jail cost projections. He submitted a
handout on jail projections (on file). The costs are in line and sustainable. If the size of the
jail has to be dramatically reduced, they can find ways to reduce services. The jail will
operate at 400 or 410 beds due to the nature of what occurs in the justice system. They've
forecast expenditures and revenue on that level.
Mann asked if the County is going to get stuck with a higher jail bill if a
comprehensive set of diversion programs is successful. That would be a problem. Desler
stated all the Cities will contribute a fixed amount of money each year until the bonds are
paid off. The operating costs are based on the average use. Whatcom County has the
lowest jail bed day rate in Western Washington. Many jails are charging in excess of $100
per day. Whatcom County charges $80 per day because it's made efforts to contain jail
costs. They will continue that effort. A lot of factors go into who uses a jail. It's a required
function of County government to have a jail. Whatcom County has also chosen to provide
a regional jail for all the Cities. They could design scenarios in which the County would have
to take on more cost for a jail if they were very successful with the diversion programs.
That's not something to be afraid of.
Schroeder referenced estimates presented at a previous meeting and stated the
estimated operating cost of the new jail is $16.3 million. The County net per annum is
$10.1 million. The estimated City net per annum is $2.5 million. If the community
succeeds at jail diversion, the $2.5 million dollars contribution to the total $16.3 million
operation cost will likely be reduced. It's most likely the misdemeanants from the cities that
will be diverted from the criminal justice system. If there is not an associated reduction in
operation cost, which would be a reduction in staffing, the County would take on a larger
percentage of the cost to run the jail.
Weimer stated he would like a line item budget of the proposed operation cost, so
they can get a sense of which expenses are fixed and which aren't. Schroeder stated the
community would benefit in a much larger way, because of the jail diversion programs. The
average daily population used to calculate an operating cost of $16.3 million was about 403
inmates.
Louws stated Whatcom County will absorb about 80 percent of the cost. If the
programs are successful, the County's operational contribution will increase, but the long-
term benefit as the total County population increases in the future is a reduced cost to the
County. It will cost less to pay the additional portion of operating costs than it will cost to
expand the facility. If successful, the County can absorb the additional operating cost.
They want the Cities to partner with the County on this task force and to have an
appropriate allocation of costs. The task force is designed to include City officials. Consider
the long -term success.
Kremen stated a concern is that the jail population percentages between the County
and Cities have increased from the prior measure put before the voters. The County would
end up being responsible for more of the jail population than in prior years.
Bill Elfo, Sheriff, stated there has been a slight shift in the percentages. While the
County is working to create a lot of diversion programs and make fundamental changes to
law and justice administration, they will still deal with the changes to sentencing. Judges
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 4
have limited discretion for sentencing. Sentences have changed from the State prison to
the County jail. That is beyond the County's control. That trend will continue.
Kremen stated the recent economic recession precipitated some of these changes.
The Cities were not following through with some of their misdemeanants, and the County
wound up with a larger percentage of the jail population. That hasn't changed. The Cities
are now accustomed to not following through with the non - felonies. The County doesn't
have that discretion. Be mindful of having a greater responsibility of the overall cost of
running the jail. He supports diversion programs, but realistically, the number of people in
the jail won't be reduced. There are enough bad guys to fill up the facility.
Elfo stated that the majority of misdemeanor offenses from the cities are gross
misdemeanors, which is defined by State law, not by municipal ordinance. They can meet
with the City on their laws, but the vast majority are defined by the Revised Code of
Washington. There is little latitude in changing those definitions.
Brenner stated there will be a financial benefit. People with mental health issues are
eligible for Medicaid. Once they are in jail, they will lose Medicaid. As they reduce the
numbers in the jail and those who can be diverted, they can use the other pods for
something other than jail space. It's a balancing act. It's an industrial park, so there may
be some way to lease out space to businesses. Keep an eye on the Medicaid funding.
Desler stated Whatcom County has made a major improvement in the number of
people covered by health insurance compared to any other county in the state. The jail also
has the capacity of linking people in jail to health insurance before they get out of jail.
Browne stated he would like the task force to be a permanent fixture. He had a
conversation recently with the National Association of Counties (NACO) and asked if they
can provide a checklist of things the counties should look at in terms of diverting people
from the criminal justice system. He had a good conversation, and is awaiting feedback. In
his experience, other than mental health issues, there are problems with things like the use
of spice, which is an unofficial marijuana, among young adults. When he was young,
someone he met seemed to have everything going for him, yet he engaged in criminal
activity. When he tried to figure out why, he discovered that the person was illiterate.
There are numerous opportunities to work on. The task force is there to intervene in things
before they become problems.
Weimer stated they've talked about the task force being permanent. They want to
get going as fast as possible to get answers this autumn on the first stages, but the task
force would be ongoing.
If people continue to have questions, put them in writing and send them to the
administration.
Mann stated he would do that for most of his questions. Some of the documents
indicate a bond interest rate of 5 percent. He asked if the County is rated AAA. Desler
stated it isn't. The County has a high rating. They've been advised by bond counsel that
the rating and the projected interest rate should match. They are still many months away
from determining what the interest rate will be. Today, for planning purposes, they are
using five percent. The County has a very high rating and no debt. They are trying to build
a competitive program that shows the bond holders that Whatcom County is a good credit
risk and has the capacity to pay back the money. The rates would be higher if the bond
were longer than 30 years.
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 5
1 Mann asked if the Council has seen a copy of the documents in the administration's
2 jail projection file or any kind of detailed breakdown of jail operating cost. Desler stated
3 they will provide more information. Today, he can provide a summary of those projections.
4
5 Schroeder stated Sheriff Elfo provided a memo to the Executive and Council that
6 goes over the five -year projected operating cost in a written format.
7
8 Mann stated that would be helpful as they talk about diversion, operating cost,
9 Medicaid, the bond rating, and other financial facts.
10
11 Weimer stated he would like information on how jail operations are paid for. It looks
12 like the operational costs of the jail are shared among the County and Cities, based on bed
13 rates. Desler stated that's correct. The 24 -page jail agreement describes how operating
14 costs are paid for. In summary, the County deducts a certain amount of revenue, gets a
15 total projected operating cost, divides that cost by the projected number of bed days, which
16 becomes the bed rate.
17
18 Weimer stated they are putting new mental health and medical facilities within the
19 jail. It seems the normal medical costs associated with the jail are also part of the bed rate.
20 Desler stated that's correct.
21
22 Weimer stated it seems the County is paying $600,000 to $700,000 per year from
23 the behavioral health tax for medication in the jail. He asked if that cost would be part of
24 the bed rate, which frees up the money in the behavioral health tax.
25
26 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department, stated the projections still
27 include behavioral health money to pay for psych medications in the jail. There is a
28 supplanting issue they're looking into, which may impact that amount. If it's determined
29 that there is some supplanting, they may have to scale back the amount of behavioral
30 health funding being used for psych medications.
31
32 Weimer stated that if psych medications are part of the normal medical cost of the
33 jail, it ought to be part of the bed rate that they all pay. Bennett stated the County gives
34 the Cities the benefit of the mental health contribution to psych medication, as well as the
35 County. They have only been dividing the net cost. There are a few areas in the jail that
36 actually provide revenue. The bed rate is the net cost of operating the jail. Revenue from
37 the commissary and phone system reduces the bed rate.
38
39 Weimer stated the interlocal agreement isn't clear about how the money is
40 estimated. He was hoping there would be an extra $600,000 for alternatives.
41
42 Desler stated it sounds like it's already being deducted.
43
44 Schroeder stated the operating cost estimates include jail medical revenue from
45 insurance money and the behavioral health money. The amount in 2014 -2016 is $440,000.
46 In 2017, it drops to $147,000. That difference is the supplanting money that Mr. Bennett
47 talked about.
48
49 Browne stated he would like to know in detail where the revenues are coming from.
50 The Council heard from testimony about the impact of having to pay for phone service in
51 the jail, for example, and the ripple effect of imposing costs on people who are already on
52 the financial edge. He's concerned they are imposing burdens on these people that will
53 more likely encourage them to go back into the system. Provide a high level of detail on
54 those sort of fees. He would like to be able to determine what it's costing an inmate to
55 make phone calls or attend school, for example.
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 6
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Desler stated this is $13 million per year facility. They use sales tax funds, general
funds, and sale of bed days to the Cities, Tribes, and State. Other revenue comes from the
sale of products through the commissary and phone calls. There are also a few grants and
other miscellaneous sources of revenue. He will provide all of that detail.
Browne stated the County made $182,000 last year on phones and other
miscellaneous revenues. He is concerned about how much they are imposing a counter-
productive burden.
Brenner stated the Council has been getting copies of questions sent to the
Executive, including questions from Steve Harris, which are really good questions. She
would like to know if those questions will be answered and if the Council will receive a copy
of the answers.
Weimer stated that any questions could be forwarded as a Council question. Louws
stated they will answer questions that come in as they can. They will continue to copy the
Council as is appropriate, including the answers to Mr. Harris.
Schroeder stated all this information provided to the Council will be on the County
Executive's website for the new jail project.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
The our cil a60 }roved these minutes on August 4, 2015.
AT `51% 0 0,,,- WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Dana Brotr 6 "b e , ebwn a Clerk Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
Special Committee of the Whole, 4/28/2015, Page 7