Jail inspection spurs county to push ahead with addition to courthouse

By NEIL O. NELSON

If Traill County commissioners need a reason to push ahead with the proposed $6.35 million addition to the courthouse, they only have to walk through the county jail.

But they’ve been down that lonely corridor before, a return visit isn’t really necessary.

Nor is it desired; the stench from 55-year-old water and sewer system that is an all-too-common manifestation of the aging addition is a less-than-courteous reminder of the deteriorating condition of the building several commissioners would like to see razed. 

And replaced with a three-story structure that would also adequately house the county’s growing Social Services agency, in addition to Traill’s water resource district.

Meanwhile, a state inspector who toured the Traill facility this week isn’t expected to produce a positive report on the aging jail, sheriff Mike Crocker indicated this week.

In fact, Crocker would be surprised if the days of the county jail aren’t numbered.

Depending on how the latest inspection of the jail is transcribed on paper, and Crocker isn’t hopeful, the state might have reason to close the facility, the sheriff said Tuesday.

Suspecting word had reached the street that the jail was closing, Crocker later Tuesday stressed that the facility has not been shut down, nor is the closing imminent.
Condition of

jail ‘not good’

Crocker reported earlier Tuesday, at the regularly-scheduled meeting of Traill’s five commissioners, that Monday’s inspection of the Traill jail and subsequent report will likely not be favorable when it reaches the Department of Corrections.

“It’s not going to be good,” said Crocker.

The condition of the building is that poor, he said. The condition of the jail, he explains, is deplorable.

Which is not news to the commissioners, the sheriff understands.

However, Crocker’s report of the inspection and its likely conclusion did take the commission by surprise. The county jail has passed all previous inspections.

Commission president Ron Peterson suggested the news should serve as a “wake-up call” for the county board.

Urging the board to “move ahead” with plans for a special election designed to bring voters in the county into the mix, commissioner Steve Larson hinted that the county had already lost valuable time by its inaction in bringing the issue to a countywide vote.

The proposed $6.35 addition will no doubt now cost $7 million, Larson is convinced.

While the commissioners decided last month to continue the dialogue on the proposed addition and the probability of a special election early in 2008, the calendar is working against them, auditor Becca Braaten offered.
Early special

election doubtful

The timeline for special elections will not accommodate a February or March election, said Braaten.

Inaction by the commission on the proposed addition has cost time, dollars and the building committee the board appointed last year.

Bobbi Hepper Olson, who served on the original search committee directed to research all options available and who most recently acted as spokesperson for the appointed building committee, informed Trail commissioners Tuesday that they will

need to find a new building committee.

Disenchanted building committee members did not anticipate the project would take this long to get off the ground, Hepper Olson intimated.

Flying for so long under the radar, the addition’s blueprints and cost figures should also be revisited, said Todd Mitzel, architect with ICON Architectural Group of Grand Forks, the firm contracted to design the new building.

Also, Mitzel said changes to the “footprint” of the addition, including the suggestion that the addition be built in two phases, are not advised.

The challenges are difficult enough, without additional changes, offered Mitzel.

As it is, his firm and the building committee will need time to put the package back together.

Hepper Olson reminded the county commission that the building committee has never ventured from its recommendation: Proceed with the project as it was designed.

That said, the intent of the building committee was never to deceive the public, according to Hepper Olson.

“We really need this (additional) space.”

Politically correct change suggestions might sound nice and hint at savings, said Hepper Olson, but in the long run the county should stick with the plans for a three-story structure, with the 22-bed jail on the ground floor and Social Services on the second floor.

Said commissioner Arne Osland: “If we’re going to do something, we should do it right.”

We have to decide what we need and if we can afford it, commented Osland.

Let the public decide how much to spend, he continued.

Ron Peterson indicated he was not in favor of cutting corners. Shortchange the project now, “we’ll regret it later,” he said.

Regardless, he said, “we’re tripping over old ground here. We’re going to have to commit to this project.”

What we’re doing is taking half-steps, acknowledged the commission chairman.

Still unclear when a special election could be scheduled, commissioners stopped short of projecting election dates and construction starts; rather, the board directed its auditor to research what the $6.35 million addition would cost landowners and property owners across the county.

When Braaten returns with suggested mill levies, commissioners Peterson, Larson, Osland, Tom Eblen and John Knudsvig will determine what their next step is, considering how the question remains: how to fund a $7 million building?

What they do know is: the economic impact of increased taxes would be significant.

The impact of transporting prisoners to jails outside Trail County promises to be significant, also, they know.

States attorney informed the commissioners Tuesday that there is currently no room in either the Cass or Grand Forks county jails.

“This is what we have to tell the public,” said Steve Larson.

The commissioners and their auditor will address the issue of the $6.35 million addition and any proposed increase in taxes at their first meeting in January, planned for Thursday, Jan. 3.

“Nothing like this is ever short and sweet,’ observed Bobbi Hepper Olson.