A $1.5 million renovation of the historic Flathead County Jail building adjacent to the courthouse is planned over the next two years as a remedy for expansion needs at the nearby Justice Center.

Once refurbished, the old jail would house the County Attorney offices, according to County Administrator Mike Pence.

“Our desire is to keep the historical look. It would be a miniature courthouse renovation,” he said, referring to the recent $2.6 million restoration of the 110-year-old courthouse.

The courthouse and jail were built for $100,000 in 1903. At the time the steel jail cells, window guards and doors cost just $6,844. Bell & Kent Architects of Helena designed the buildings in Chateauesque style, with steeply pitched roofs, brick facades and parapeted gable dormers.

At one time the jail building accommodated the sheriff’s residence — and the sheriff’s wife typically cooked meals for prisoners in bygone years.

The structurally sound jail hasn’t housed prisoners for decades, but still is used for storage. Janitorial supplies are stuffed into old jail cells and the county maintenance department has a metal shop and stores tools and equipment there.

A corner of the jail building houses the office for the Juvenile Detention Center manager, and that office will be relocated elsewhere, Pence said. A garage tacked onto the jail will be removed along with additions made through the years.

Overhead wires will be placed underground. Creating a plaza similar to the new common area between the courthouse and jail is part of the plan.  

The jail renovation won’t be as elaborate as what was done to the main courthouse, Pence said. Most of the woodwork likely will be painted instead of the oak decor featured in the courthouse.

“We’d still do a first-class project,” he said.

An elevator will be installed to serve all four levels of the old jail — three floors above ground plus the basement.

The attic has never-before-used space that can be converted into offices, Pence said. The basement would be used for records storage.

The county will pencil the preliminary design costs into this year’s budget, with the construction slated in the 2015 fiscal year that begins July 1, 2014.

Pence said he got the “brainstorm” to restore the jail as he looked at facility needs at the Justice Center. The Clerk of Court, Justice Court and County Attorney’s Office all need more space, and an architectural firm estimated the expansion of the Justice Center would cost $5.5 million.

By refurbishing the old jail the county stands to save about $4 million.

“This jail structure will comfortably house the current 21 employees [in the County Attorney’s Office] with extra space for additional employees,” Pence said, adding that he spoke with County Attorney Ed Corrigan and “he feels this is a great solution for their needs.”

It’s all about “highest and best use,” Pence said. Having a historical building on campus that’s sitting half empty and primarily used for storage just doesn’t make sense.

In a memorandum sent to Pence, Clerk of District Court Peg Allison said the restoration “is a fabulous idea for a number of reasons but the most important one is that of remedying the perception that the County Attorney has ‘easy’ access to the courts.”

Allison said public defenders have complained about that issue for more than two decades.

“This perception — whether real or imagined — that the County Attorney has unlimited or easy access to the courts causes litigants or their attorneys in both civil and criminal cases to think the county/state has an unfair advantage,” Allison wrote.

The current jail in the basement of the Justice Center is scheduled for $280,000 in improvements for the coming fiscal year to upgrade an outdated security system, remodel the booking area and install a new camera system.

The county has $260,000 set aside for those upgrades and will draw the remaining $20,000 from the general fund, Pence said.

Improvements to the county fairgrounds are included in capital improvement projects for this year and fiscal 2015 for a total of $682,000. They include reroofing the grandstand, infrastructure upgrades and exterior enhancements such as trails and landscaping.

“We may do two years’ worth of improvements” this year and use a short-term inter-fund loan to cover the costs, Pence said.

At the Parks and Recreation complex off Willow Glen Road, two metal buildings will be erected for $163,000 to accommodate the metal shop that will be displaced by the old jail renovation and other maintenance needs.

The preliminary budget will be finalized later this month once the commissioners make a decision on proposed cost-of-living raises for county employees. They’re considering a 3 percent raise.

Subject to the final payroll figures, the county is looking at a budget of $78.4 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. That compares to $75.1 million last year, and $78.1 million two years ago when the courthouse project was completed.

The budget will be finalized sometime in August.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.