By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Watching the construction of the Kootenai County jail expansion, Sheriff Ben Wolfinger had bittersweet thoughts during Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for the $12.4 million project.

"The jail expansion is a much-needed addition," Wolfinger said. "But, at our current population numbers, we will be full the day that it opens."

The expansion is expected to be completed in October 2018. It will not increase taxes because it’s being paid for with the county's fund balance money.

The current jail has 327 beds, yet on Wednesday, there were 445 total inmates. Eighty-two percent have been charged with felonies.

When the number of inmates exceeds the facility's capacity, extra inmates are placed on portable and stackable plastic bunk-style beds with mattresses.

The 30,000-square-foot expansion will bring the bed count to 441.

Wolfinger had hoped the shells for future expansion, which would take the capacity to 549, would be done during the current construction schedule to plan for the future and the cheaper cost to do it now rather than later.

"I've always said that we have a responsibility to plan for the future, which would also be fiscally responsible," he said.

Wolfinger said to effectively operate a jail, there must be bed space available to move inmates into different housing units to accommodate new arrests.

The National Institute of Corrections recommends a jail operate at 80 percent of total capacity.

But county commissioners, who approved the project in May, said the size of the expansion had to be considered with several other

county building and construction projects in the works.

"We have a resolution in place to keep a minimum amount in the fund balance," Commissioner Chris Fillios said.

Fillios said staffing also had to be considered. The bigger the expansion is, the more staffing would be needed.

Fillios said the number of inmates can also fluctuate greatly depending on the day of the week and other factors.

"If we only plan for the surges, we run the risk of overspending," Fillios said.

When asked what the cost of finishing the shells now versus five or 10 years down the road would be, Joe Donovan, Sletten Construction project manager, said neither of those figures has been determined because that hasn't been within the scope of the project assigned to Sletten.

"It will always be more [to build down the road] — just standard economics will tell you that," Donovan said, adding how much more is difficult to predict.

Commissioner Marc Eberlein said expanding the jail had been an "uphill battle" in recent years, especially when there was talk of increasing taxes to do so or building a completely new facility. However, the sentiment changed when it was decided expansion would be paid for with the fund balance, he said.

"I didn't support paying for it with bonds and levies either," Eberlein said. "It's time to finish the house we started. If the [jail] population keeps growing, then we will have to address it with [the buildout of the shells]."

Eberlein said he realizes the jail could be at capacity the day the expansion opens, but perhaps more discretion on who is booked needs to be considered.

Eberlein estimates the cost of the additional staffing needed for the expansion compared to the cost the county is transporting and housing inmates out of the area will be about even to start out, but should save taxpayers in as soon as two years.

Wolfinger said the county has 91 inmates housed in other counties at an average cost of $60 per day, not including transportation costs.

"We are currently spending between $130,000 and $150,000 a month to house inmates out of county," Wolfinger said. "That is money that can be used to offset the costs of additional personnel."

Eberlein said transporting inmates to other areas also increases the possibility of them escaping.

The expansion includes 84 beds for felons, a 10-bed inmate worker dormitory, a 28-bed medical unit and clinic, a laundry area and indoor and outdoor recreation spaces. The finished detention space will be 20,000 square feet and 8,000 will be shelled for future housing.

The Sheriff's Office plans to add 23 new positions to staff the expansion, including 15 deputies, two sergeants, five control room operators and one maintenance person. The annual cost to fund the positions is about $1.3 million.

"These all need to be filled by the time we open," Wolfinger said.

He said considering the current job market and battle to keep pace with filling existing positions, there is "great concern" whether all of the positions for the expansion will be filled upon construction completion.

"That is why we have been working with Human Resources and the commissioners to execute a plan for recruiting outside of our area," Wolfinger said. "We are recruiting at military bases in the Midwest. We are also proctoring the tests on site so applicants won’t have to travel to Coeur d’Alene."

Asked if the opening of the expansion will be delayed if all of the new positions aren't filled when construction is finished, Wolfinger said it depends on the circumstance.

"We may be able to open if only one or two positions aren’t filled by utilizing overtime shifts for existing staff," he said.