County cuts the ribbon for new sheriff's office, jail facility

EPHRATA — Grant County officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, June 17, to recognize completion of the county’s new sheriff’s office and adult corrections facility.

The complex was completed on time and 3% below its $155 million budget — something of a rarity in an age when change orders are common on large-scale capital projects, county administrator Tom Gaines told a crowd of law enforcement personnel, local dignitaries, and contractors.

Grant County sheriff Joey Kriete called the new complex “quite amazing” and said it represented “more than concrete and steel.”

The project, he said, symbolized “a commitment to service, integrity, and the safety of every person who calls Grant County home.”

Both Kriete and Gaines spoke of the years of planning, leadership by elected officials past and present, support from staff in all county departments, collaboration with other local governments including the City of Ephrata and Grant PUD, and the participating contractors.

Those included Clemons, Rutherford & Associates, Inc., or CRA, a Florida-based firm which designed and engineered the facility; general contractor Lydig Construction Inc. of Spokane; mechanical systems contractor MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions; and electrical contractor Arc Electric of Spokane.

 Calling it a “generational project,” Gaines said the collective goal was to create a facility “which serves the county well,” including some individuals “who don’t always make the best decisions” — a reference to the future inmates.

Gaines and Kriete commended the efforts of former county sheriff Tom Jones, who spearheaded a campaign in 2019 for a 3/10ths of 1% sales tax increase approved by voters to provide additional funding dedicated to local law enforcement agencies.

The county is using a portion of that revenue to pay off two bond sales which financed construction. Also thanked were longtime county treasurer Darryl Pheasant for his “key role” in various fiscal responsibilities, and Jones’ successor, sheriff Ryan Rectenwald, who “carried the work forward.”

Gaines noted that a portion of one bond sale will also help finance construction of the county’s new coroner’s office in Moses Lake, a project which also involves CRA and Lydig. Both firms have demonstrated “community values, honesty, and transparency,” he said.

Guests and dignitaries attending Wednesday’s ceremony included current county commissioners Kevin Burgess, Cindy Carter, and Rob Jones; former commissioners Richard Stevens and Danny Stone; Ephrata mayor Steve Oliver, city administrator Ray Towry, and council member Valli Millard; city council members Victor Lombardi of Moses Lake and Dave Dormaier of Quincy; former sheriff John Young and undersheriff Dave Ponozzo.

The facility’s entryway includes a memorial dedicated to fallen law enforcement personnel, and a moment of silence was held in memory of former sheriff’s deputies John Bernard and Jon Melvin.   

Design work on the complex began in 2022 with a groundbreaking held on June 20, 2024.

Built on the site of a former stock car race track in the 18000 block of Nat Washington Way, the complex encompasses 185,000 square feet including outbuildings.

The main facility is designed for a centrally controlled, multi-level, 512-bed jail, although the initial inmate population will be significantly less than that. It also includes the sheriff’s office, an emergency operations center, training rooms, kitchen and laundry, health services spaces, a large secured sallyport for law enforcement vehicles transporting prisoners, and a K-9 training facility.  

Inmates won’t be moving into the new jail immediately. Corrections staff are currently training to “safely operate the facility,” and it’s anticipated that inmates will be transferred sometime in August.

During a tour earlier this spring, corrections chief deputy Phil Coats pointed out a number of features incorporated into the jail design. There are special spaces to address disease control, behavioral health, and drug-alcohol withdrawal needs for inmates. Other spaces are available for mental health and drug counseling, religious services, and job skills. Computer tablets are provided to inmates to promote positive behavior, he said.

Coats said the design is also intended to benefit sheriff and corrections staff. Working in an often-stressful environment, physical and mental health is important to them, too. The building incorporates natural light in open areas, there is a fitness room, locker rooms, and showers.

“We feel a need to educate the staff, the public, and the community of what happens inside the jail,” he said.

Along with Coats and two lieutenants, the corrections staff currently totals 49 full-time employees. It’s estimated 20 or more would be needed if jail operations eventually expand to full capacity, which would include opening a second “pod,” but that may be years away.

Kriete said the current annual jail budget is about $10 million, and he did not expect a significant expense increase by being in the new space. Any adjustments would relate to supporting a larger inmate population and associated costs for food, medical care, housing supplies, and other operational needs.

Kriete said the county is currently in discussions with an outside agency — he declined to say which one — regarding a “potential bed space agreement.” But he said no bed space would be allocated in a way that reduces the county’s capacity to manage its own local inmate population.

The new adult corrections facility will replace the existing 40-year-old jail, located in the Law and Justice Center adjacent to the downtown courthouse and annex. It was originally designed to hold 85 beds but at times housed over 200 inmates in past years. County officials are still undecided how that space might be used, or razed. 

To incorporate a secured, single-point entry, there are plans to eventually enclose the breezeway between the courthouse annex and justice center, which also houses the county prosecutor and clerk offices and courtrooms for superior court.