By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Olympian reports a planned $24 million jail that cost twice that to build and was ready for use more than four years ago remains idled in Thurston County, even as the sheriff rents beds for some of his inmates in Lewis and Chelan counties.
News reporter Amelia Dickinson writes that it’s costing taxpayers $400,000 more each year to maintain the empty place called the Accountability and Restitution Center, ARC, even as some of its never-used technology may be becoming obsolete. And the current lock-up facility is still insufficient in several ways, she writes.
Read more about how millions of dollars are allocated to the corrections department, but Sheriff John Snaza and county commissioners – all elected officials – disagree about the amount needed to open the vacant ARC. Read it here
How the heck did it get built without an operating budget? I agree with GuiltyBystander – I’ve actually witnessed a public official make a statement at a public meeting regarding the higher class of candidates for various county positions that come from Thurston County. I didn’t believe him then, and this debacle seems to prove my point. Our farmers and ranchers are savvy businessmen fully able to run a multimillion dollar budget. I doubt any one of them would build a 48 million dollar facility without an operating budget and I sure hope they would find a way to make such a facility break even rather than run the lights, water and heat for years without even using the danged thing.
Thurston County taxpayers shelling out $400K a year to maintain a $48 million facility that’s never been used? How can this be? I mean, people are so much SMARTER in Olympia than they are here…just ask them.
I say build it and they will come…….?
If you know the facts…when the new ARC was built it was meant to supplement and not replace the current jail. If all of the current inmates were moved to the new jail it would be overcrowded right away.
The commissioners have been great at telling the public the sheriff is wasting tax dollars but they do not tell all of the story. People call everyone involved and demand to have them explain the situation. They are elected officials…if they refuse to talk with you……vote them out!