Idaho County faces possible time constraints for new jail

GRANGEVILLE — The clock is ticking on federal COVID-19-related funds Idaho County hopes to use to build a new jail complex north of town.

Idaho County Clerk Kathy Ackerman said Wednesday that the $3.173 million Idaho County received in American Rescue Plan Act and Economic Recovery-related funding must be “committed” by the end of 2024 and spent by 2026.

“Now the question is, what does ‘committed’ mean?” Ackerman said.

Ackerman, who sits on the board of directors for the National Association of Counties, said it’s unclear how far along plans must be to qualify for the rescue plan funding. Idaho County recently had a setback after an architectural proposal for a new jail complex outpaced the money set aside for that purpose. Ackerman said there are other counties in the country facing the same questions about the recovery plan funds and the national association is trying to come up with guidelines about funding eligibility.

The American Rescue Plan Act was designed to help governmental entities mitigate COVID-19-related issues. Ackerman said governments that received less than $10 million had some latitude in how to spend the money for general purposes. Idaho County has already spent a small portion of the funds in assistance for a county worker whose spouse died from the disease. Another $500,000 has been set aside for a regional broadband expansion project that is underway.

The rest, Ackerman said, has been designated for the jail, which ties to the disease mitigation guidelines by developing a facility that would have upgraded space, better ventilation, greater degrees of separation for people and units for possible quarantine.

The Idaho County commissioners recently rejected a draft plan for the jail complex by the architects, Clemens Rutherford and Associates of Tallahassee, Fla., after the draft came in more than $5 million over the county’s budget of $10.5 million.

“We sent it back and said, ‘You know how much money we had to spend and you designed something that wouldn’t fit into the budget. You need to redesign,’ ” said Commissioner Denis Duman, who is overseeing the jail program.

Duman said Will Rutherford, the architect, has promised to rescale the design within a couple of weeks and be ready to send out for bids toward the first of February. That would allow bidders two weeks to modify their original bids based on the new plans.

The jail, Duman said, “is something that we desperately need, but we’re trying to get it done without the taxpayers having to foot the bill for a levy.”

The original plan, which was scheduled to be under construction last spring, would have housed 56 inmates and included extensive remodeling of the current Idaho County Courthouse. The commissioners have been whittling away at that scheme and are currently considering a 48-bed retention unit and no remodels to the current courthouse.

Besides the recovery plan money, the county also has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund for $5.1 million for each of two years.

The proposed jail would be located near the Idaho County Airport search and rescue headquarters. It would replace the current jail that was built in 1956 and houses about 11 inmates.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.