COEUR d’ALENE — A decades-old idea to relocate a consolidated justice services facility to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds near the jail in northern Coeur d’Alene at the cost of a least $30 million is once again being considered by county commissioners.

However, based on feedback from two of three commissioners on Tuesday, the notion may not go far.

“I think it’s an incredibly bad idea,” said Commissioner Bill Brooks after the issue was brought to the table by fellow Commissioner Leslie Duncan.

As the demands on the justice system continue to grow, the county is looking at construction of a new building to house additional judges, public defenders, prosecutors and support staff.

Due to increased judicial demands, the state in 2021 is planning on adding two judges to District 1, which includes Kootenai County. And a recent $1.5 million grant from state’s Public Defender Commission will fund at least eight new attorneys and five support staff for the county, officials said.

As the county’s population continues to soar — by an average of nearly 3 percent annually for the past several years — commissioners are planning to build a new county facility.

Preliminary plans reviewed last month by commissioners include a proposed $22 million, four-story building with about 88,000 square feet to be built on the current courthouse campus downtown.

Commissioners Brooks and Chris Fillios said it makes more sense to fulfill infrastructure justice needs by building at the existing site of the administrative offices and courtrooms.

It’s the more cost-effective way to go and would better serve the county, Brooks said.

Advocates of the proposal to build a justice services building at the fairgrounds, however, say it would allow for growth looking forward 30-40 years as the county’s population continues to thrive. And it would reduce transport costs to take prisoners from the jail to the courtrooms downtown.

Proponent ZoeAnn Thruman told commissioners that law enforcement officials she has spoken with like the idea of a move to the fairgrounds and encouraged them to look further into the possibility.

“It makes sense to the law enforcement I’ve spoken with,” she said.

Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said the concept of a justice building at the fairgrounds came up in the late 1980s when the current jail was built. He doesn’t believe it makes sense now, however.

“It was probably a good idea 30 years ago, but that ship has sailed,” Wolfinger said. If it was built on the fairgrounds, a justice facility would infringe on needed fair space, he added.

“They’re bursting at the seams and it would hurt them,” the sheriff said. “I think all things considered it would be cost prohibitive.”

Roughly, cost estimates for construction of a justice facility at the fairgrounds range from $30 million to $40 million, officials said.

The property would also need to be annexed into the city and the county would be required to connect to city sewer services and pay other fees associated with building permits that would cost more than $100,000.

Commissioner Fillios said he would be willing to look at studies that may support a justice building on the fairgrounds, but such a study would not be county-funded.

He voiced concerns over traffic along Government Way and U.S. Highway 95 should the facility be built in northern Coeur d’Alene.

“I see no compelling reason to build at the fairgrounds,” he said. “I’m firmly committed to staying downtown.”