Adams County Jail remodel could begin early next year
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months AGO
An architect will be working on more detailed cost estimates for remodeling the Adams County Jail with the goal of advertising the project for bid late this year or early next year. The jail shut down in May 2022 after an altercation at the jail saw multiple people injured. Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner wants changes made to ensure safety in the facility for his staff and inmates.
FILE PHOTO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | August 5, 2025 6:48 PM
RITZVILLE — Remodeling of the Adams County Jail could begin in spring 2026. Adams County Commissioners authorized county officials to go ahead with a draft design for the project within the existing budget Tuesday. Todd O’Brien, county public works director, said the goal is to determine what can be done with the money and square footage available.
“What we have secured right now is $2.6 million,” O’Brien said.
A committee made up of county officials has been working on a plan to reopen the jail, which was closed in May 2022. That committee included O’Brien, Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner and Adams County Prosecutor Randy Flyckt, the jail commander and Commissioner Dan Blankenship, among others.
“We brought on board DOH Architects and they worked with this committee to go through a needs assessment,” O’Brien said.
That assessment also looked at things that would be desirable to have, and how much those needs and wants would cost, he said. All the work would be done within the existing jail space.
“We know kind of a plan of what we’re going to be able to do,” Wagner said.
The list of necessary projects and things that would be good to do added up to about $4.7 million, O’Brien said. Commissioners authorized county officials to go back to DOH Architects, Wenatchee, and come up with a preliminary estimate of what’s possible with the existing resources.
“(Use the existing funding to include) all the wants and needs that we identified in the (planning) in the current footprint of the jail,” O’Brien said.
At least one remodeling project has been completed — the jail got a new roof in 2024. County officials have asked for additional federal funding but don’t know yet if they will receive it, and don’t know how soon they might find out, O’Brien said. In light of that, he recommended that county officials go ahead with the current budget.
“So, we can get the ball rolling. We feel like we need to get started,” O’Brien said.
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