Grays Harbor, Mason counties explore possibility of sharing regional detention center

Grays Harbor County is studying the possible development of a regional criminal justice facility with Mason County to address the deteriorating existing facilities and lack of inmate space both counties face.

Grays Harbor County commissioners last week approved a request for a bid from KMB Architects to do a feasibility study on the facility, which would be located on the border of the two counties. If KMB also is approved by Mason County, negotiations will begin to determine final cost of the study.

Grays Harbor’s current jail facility “is in pretty sorry shape,” said Commissioner Wes Cormier. He and Commissioner Randy Ross also said the juvenile facility, situated in East Aberdeen just north of Junction City, is increasingly threatened by encroaching water from the Chehalis River.

The study will give commissioners a chance to see “what the facility might look like and how it would operate,” Ross said.

There aren’t enough beds to accommodate inmates at the current county facility, Cormier said. “They have the same issues there” in Mason County.

The KMD study, if also approved by Mason County, would consider local factors that have led to the increased jail population. It would also suggest possible locations for the facility, and preview its possible design. Ross said the current trend for such facilities has inmates housed on a single floor, allowing for more efficient movement of inmates within the facility. Staff at the county jail currently has to move inmates between multiple floors.

Last week the Grays Harbor Commissioners also approved $26,553 for Thomas Architecture Studios to look at addressing space needs at the county administration building in Montesano.

“We’re trying to become more customer friendly,” said Ross. He said most people who visit the building are there for one of three services: licensing, paying taxes and building permits. The idea is to have those three services located together.

Cormier said the goal of the redesign would be to maximize the current space in Montesano “instead of building new buildings.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2019 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Grays Harbor, Mason counties explore possibility of sharing regional detention center."