Frequently Asked Questions

• JAIL NEEDS IN KING COUNTY
• MORE ABOUT SCORE
• FACILITY DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONS

JAIL NEEDS IN KING COUNTY

1. Why is a Jail needed?
   
   King County Executive Sims notified all of the cities in King County that they would no longer be able to provide space for municipal misdemeanor offenders after 2012. All the cities in King County have worked cooperatively to resolve this issue. Many cities have entered into contracts with other jurisdictions for temporary services. Unfortunately, those contracts are expiring as well. There simply isn’t enough jail space available for law enforcement agencies in King County.
2. What research has been done to determine the needs for additional jail capacity?
   
   All of the King County cities participated in a long-term jail needs study in 2006. This study is known as the Ricci-Greene Study. The study suggested that two sub-regional jails be constructed. The study revealed that 1,440 beds would be needed by all the cities by 2026. Of the 1,440 beds, 700 of them are needed in South King County. After the Ricci-Greene Study was completed, the SCORE cities completed a separate feasibility study to determine if the cities could provide equivalent jail services at a reduced cost. The feasibility study revealed that SCORE could provide the same services at a reduced rate, benefiting the tax payers of the SCORE cities.
3. What about cities that contract with the King County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. Can they still use the King County Jails?
   
   No. The King County jails are operated by a separate King County Department, the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD). DAJD has determined that the felony inmate population is growing faster than they can manage capacity, and additional space is needed. All municipal cities have been told they must leave, regardless of whether or not they contract for basic law enforcement services from the King County Sheriff’s Office.
4. King County already operates jails, can’t we make them take these offenders?
   
   No, by state law the county is responsible for housing felony inmates. The cities are responsible for managing those inmates charged with misdemeanors.
5. What is the difference between felonies and misdemeanors?
   
   Felony crimes are the most serious crimes. Misdemeanor crimes are those crimes that are less serious; however, they occur more frequently. Many of these crimes are driving offenses, such as driving while license suspended or driving while intoxicated.
6. What about juvenile offenders?
   
   The SCORE facility is not designed for juveniles. They are held under different laws and are the responsibility of King County, regardless of whether the juvenile is charged with a felony or misdemeanor offense.
7. What about recidivism? Does putting people in jail really change their behavior?
   
   Recidivism is a complicated issue. One cannot assume that because bookings are up or down, the crime rate has changed. SCORE is excited about looking at long-term recidivism rates in conjunction with the facility and programs that could be implemented at the facility. SCORE is committed to working with social service providers when appropriate.
8. I heard that other cities are working with King County to build a large jail next to the Downtown Seattle jail. Why don’t you join that group?
   
   All of the cities are facing the same challenges of limited jail space. A group similar to SCORE, called NEC, has been formed to address the misdemeanor jail needs for the city of Seattle and other North and East King County cities. Those cities include Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and Shoreline. NEC has entered into a partnership with King County to study the feasibility of building a jail annex, south of the King County Correctional Facility in downtown Seattle. While this location is ideal for many of these cities, it is not ideal for the SCORE cities. The increased travel time increases the impact on the cities’ law enforcement agencies, and increases gasoline consumption and associated pollution. Further, an independent cost analysis of this site indicates that the increased costs of construction for a downtown, high-rise jail facility would be at least $100 million more than the SCORE facility. The annual operations at the proposed downtown site are expected to cost $10 million.
9. What about the Federal Detention Center?
   
   The Federal Detention Center is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The cities are unable to use this facility for misdemeanor offenders.
10. Who is going to pay for this?
    
    The agencies that the facility serves will pay for the debt service and operating costs of the facility through a daily housing rate. The proposed rate is less than what the cities are currently paying to house inmates at the other facilities they currently use.
11. What does it cost to house someone at King County Jail?
    
    The cities pay King County $220.77 for booking and $115.36 for a daily housing fee (2009 rates). King County has told the cities that these rates do not cover their expenses and has been negotiating with the cities to modify these rates.
12. Will my taxes increase to pay for the bonds?
    
    No, existing taxes are already paying for jail services. The average daily rate at the SCORE facility will be less than what the cities are currently paying to house inmates at King County jails.
13. Don’t Auburn and Renton already have jails?
    
    Yes, the cities of Auburn and Renton both operate jails. Unfortunately, these jails do not have enough capacity to meet the needs of the cities. Both cities utilize the capacity of jails in Eastern Washington.
14. Do we really need to build another jail?
    
    The Puget Sound region has had significant growth in the last decade. Roads, sewers, and other critical infrastructure have been built. Law enforcement agencies have grown, and there is a critical need for jail space. It is simply time to increase jail capacity.
15. I heard that the King County Council wants King County to be the regional jail provider. What does that mean?
    
    The King County Council passed legislation in July 2008 that requested the County Executive to try to negotiate a two-year extension to the existing cities’ contract for jail services. Included in that legislation was a proposal to plan for the expansion of the Maleng Regional Justice Center (MRJC) in Kent. Unfortunately, the legislation doesn’t identify any funding source for the expansion at the MRJC, and it is unlikely that King County can pay for the expansion unless the cities are willing to fund it or the county raises taxes. Finally, the legislation is not binding, and the King County Executive is not required to extend the contract. The SCORE cities continue to work with King County to integrate the SCORE jail wherever possible.

MORE ABOUT SCORE

1. What does SCORE mean?
   
   SCORE stands for South Correctional Entity. SCORE is a group of seven cities that are working together to solve our collective jail crisis. The cities are Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila. Collectively the cities represent almost 340,000 citizens in South King County.
2. What is a Public Development Authority?
   
   A Public Development Authority (PDA) is authorized by state law. A PDA is created for specialized purposes. The SCORE PDA was created for two purposes, 1) to issue the obligations to pay for the facility, and 2) to serve as the agency that will construct the facility. The PDA will cease once the bonds are repaid.
3. Is there a mayor or some other elected official in charge?
   
   SCORE is managed by an Administrative Board. The seven cities each have a representative on the Board, either the city’s Mayor, or City Manager. There will be a Facility Director that reports to the Administrative Board. The Administrative Board must approve the budget, debt, labor contracts, and policies of the facility.
4. Do all the cities have equal ownership?
   
   The cities all have an equal vote on the Administrative Board. There are certain decisions that require a supermajority vote. All of the cities have committed to guarantee the debt associated with building the jail based upon the Interlocal Agreement. This means that all cities pay for the amount of the jail they use. The largest users are the cities of Auburn and Renton and the smallest users are Burien and SeaTac.
5. What experience do the cities have working on a project like this?
   
   Three of the seven cities (Auburn, Renton and Tukwila) were original owner agencies in the Valley Communications Center. Valley Com was created in 1976 by the cities to provide quality emergency call receiving and dispatching services without having to duplicate staff resources and technology. The cities created a PDA that issued debt and built the facility, similar to the SCORE project. Today, the Valley Communications Center provides services for approximately 674,000 people and has been duplicated by several other communities.

FACILITY DESIGN AND OPERATIONS

1. What will the jail look like?
   
   Artist rendering of what the facility will look like. The facility is a single-story building, with a housing mezzanine. The building resembles a school. A single-story facility is less expensive to build and operate than a multi-story jail. At full capacity, the jail will have 822 inmates
2. Where will it be built?
   
   In the city of Des Moines at 20817 17th Avenue South. The approximately 15-acre vacant site was not practical for other development based upon its proximity to the airport and associated aircraft noise.
3. How much will the jail cost?
   
   The jail will cost approximately $58 million to build.
4. How long will it take to build the jail?
   
   Construction began in December 2009, and is estimated to take 22 months. Under this schedule, the jail should be ready to open in late 2011.
5. Who is the general contractor?
   
   Lydig Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract to build the multi-jurisdiction facility in the amount of $53,998,902.27 (including Washington State sales tax).
6. Can the public tour the jail?
   
   For safety reasons, the construction site will be restricted. However, there will be community tours scheduled as the facility nears completion.
7. Where will the offenders being housed at SCORE come from?
   
   The inmates will be arrested from local jurisdictions, primarily in the South King County area.
8. Who will operate the jail?
   
   The Jail will be operated by SCORE. SCORE is a government entity that is “owned” by each of the seven cities. All of the cities have an equal vote in the operations of the facility.
9. How many employees will there be?
   
   There will be approximately 150 employees at the facility. The majority of those will be corrections officers, followed by medical staff and administrative personnel.