For the last few years Kootenai County's Board of Commissioners have been exploring options to expand the Kootenai County Jail or come up with a similar alternative to help with the overcrowding in the counties current 325 bed jail which is located off of Government Way just south of Dalton Ave in Coeur d' Alene. The issue has even appeared on the ballot a couple of times to gather up enough tax dollars to add on to the existing jail, however voters have rejected that plan both times it has been on the ballot.
But now a private jail operator has stepped into focus after giving a presentation to the board recently that proposes building a new jail on behalf of the county. That company is Rocky Mountain Corrections and they propose building a new jail and then leasing the jail back to Kootenai County ,during the lease term the county would be allowed to staff and operate the new jail.
Rocky Mountain Corrections offered 2 new jail plans they are...
-A new 408 bed correctional facility with a lease cost of 3.1 million dollars per year, This jail would however bring in about 9.4 million in revenue with services and bed rentals
-A new 625 bed correctional facility that would cost a bit more at 4.6 million dollars a year to lease and bring in about 8.5 million dollars in revenue.
The board of commissioners are optimistic but do have a lot more to follow up on before and decisions or construction could begin.We will keep you posted as I hear more...
