County plans $77.7 million in building projects
Flathead County has rolled out a proposed $77.7 million capital improvement plan for the next five years that includes $50 million for a new jail in 2020 and 2021.
The capital improvement plan is a five-year planning tool created by the county to identify the future timing of capital needs, their costs and sources of funding.
At 10 a.m. today, the commissioners will take action on $10.4 million in capital improvements planned for the coming fiscal year that begins July 1. All of the fiscal 2017 capital projects are fully funded within the county’s preliminary budget that also is up for discussion and action following the capital improvement plan vote.
The county plans to spend $3.6 million in the coming year for rural special improvement district road improvements, gravel pit expansion and equipment purchases. About $537,000 will be spent on improvements to make area senior centers compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
A sky bridge to connect the county’s new South Campus Building with the Earl Bennett Building on First Avenue West is penciled into the capital improvement plan at $680,000 for the coming year.
The commissioners on Tuesday approved a change order to include the sky bridge as part of the South Campus Building construction. The lion’s share of the cost will be borne by the City-County Health Department’s capital budget, county Administrator Mike Pence said.
The Solid Waste Department plans to spend $1.8 million on a shop addition, construction of a new green-box waste container site in Lakeside, leachate tank repair and an access road.
County participation in two trail projects will be just over $1 million — $226,826 for the Blacktail Road Trail and $790,950 for Gateway to Glacier Trail.
For fiscal year 2018, the Sheriff’s Office has earmarked $1.25 million as a capital placeholder for a remodel of the second floor of the Justice Center to accommodate an expansion of the existing adult detention center.
The decision to expand the jail into the former County Attorney’s space has not been made yet. A study to determine the feasibility of expanding the jail there is wrapping up, but preliminary information indicates 36 jail beds could be added in that space, Pence said.
There has been discussion about how to accommodate a fifth district judge, if and when that decision is made by the Legislature, Pence said.
“We’d have to address facilities for a fifth judge,” he said. “We built South Campus in a better way to where we can quite easily add another floor. Whether that’s the right solution, we don’t know.”
If a new jail is built in another location within the next few years, it would free up enough room in the Justice Center for District Court expansion, Pence said.
“There are a lot of dominoes, and which way they fall” remains to be seen, he added.
In 2019, $3 million is slated for construction of a gymnasium, $220,000 for new restrooms at the fairgrounds and $600,000 for scale house and scale improvements at the landfill.
The big spending comes in 2020 and 2021 with just over $20 million penciled in for the new jail in 2020 and $28.3 million earmarked for 2021. The remainder of the $50 million projection for the jail would be spread over a third year beyond the five-year capital plan.
All of the projected capital improvement projects from 2018 through 2021 are not fully funded and projects will be re-evaluated during next year’s budget review.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.