NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office will host an open house on Tuesday to educate residents about the proposed Jail Infrastructure Project.
The project, which is a key measure on the Nov. 7 Election Day ballot, would be funded by a $49 million bond, requiring the approval of a two-thirds supermajority of voters.
A news release from the sheriff’s office encourages residents to attend the event and visit the project website at adajailproject.org to learn about the project and see a jail tour video and overview of pretrial release, alternative sentencing and misdemeanor probation programs.
The open house begins with a 6:30 p.m. presentation at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, located at 7200 Barrister Drive, Entrance 3 in Boise.
Originally constructed in 1977, the jail has been expanded four times, with the most recent major expansion undertaken in 2003, when the county had a population of about 325,000, the news release states.
Today, Ada County has nearly 545,000 residents and is expected to exceed 600,000 residents within the next 10 years, according to the release.
As the county’s population has increased, the sheriff’s office has seen a rise in high-risk inmates, the news release stated. Despite past expansions and implementation of several alternative incarceration measures, the current jail, with 1,116 beds, is often at or over its operational capacity.
The need to expand the jail comes after exhausting the county’s ability to divert eligible individuals through pretrial release, alternative sentencing and misdemeanor probation programs to maintain operational capacity, the sheriff’s office said
The proposed expansion would add 294 beds, a new transport center and secured access, and a new warehouse.
Expansions to booking, intake and property areas are also proposed. Proposed improvements to kitchen and laundry services facilities aim to increase the jail’s operational capacity and provide cost-effective solutions. The project is projected to meet the county’s needs for the foreseeable future, the sheriff’s office said.
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer of the proposed bond is a tax of $3.60 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions, according to the project website.
The county welcomes resident feedback at the open house and has a survey open that can be found on the jail project website at adajailproject.org.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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