ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Ada County's plan to expand the jail got short-circuited once again Monday.
Boise's Planning and Zoning Commission decided not to make a decision about approving the expansion after the city and county could not agree on the design of the parking lot.
They debated how many spaces they need to have that are compatible with electric vehicles. City staff said they need about 130 EV-compatible spots to meet code.
The county's architects pushed back. They said that is an unreasonably large amount that will cost them roughly $1.5 million.
"It is taxpayer money, and we would rather spend taxpayers' money on housing for inmates rather than parking and EV parking that may not be used," said Scott Wendell with Lombard Conrad Architects.
This is part of Phase 1 of the county's plan to expand and update the jail. In addition to updating the parking lot, it includes landscaping/retrofitting the area and remodeling the kitchen.
Phase 2 improvements would include adding several hundred beds in a new housing block and remodeling the booking and intake area.
The county decided to remodel the jail in phases after a bond failed last November by less than a percent.
"We are at maximum capacity of that jail and forever growing," said Alex Murray with Ada County Operations. "So, any support that we could have would be appreciated."
The county says it needs to expand the jail to keep up with that growth. The jail was built in the mid 1970s, when the county says the population was roughly 110,000.
Now, nearly 560-thousand people live in the county. The county told KTVB it will pay for Phase 1 with the $20 million it already set aside for the project.
The county could not say how it will pay for the rest. Staff originally estimated the expansion would cost about $70 million.
An Ada County Sheriff's Office spokesperson says they hope to start Phase 1 by next summer. That all depends on if and when they get the initial approval and what happens during design review.