Stevens County Justice Center Development Delayed

Stevens County commissioners said they are scaling back plans for a new jail and courtroom facility two years after voters approved taxes to pay for a justice center adjacent to the existing courthouse.

“(W)e can’t build the building that we want,” Commission Chairman Greg Young said at a board meeting called to discuss the project on Jan. 15. “Like I said, it’s too darn expensive.”

Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke said he saw this outcome coming.

“Delusions of grandeur on what we could build and afford during the initial phases became reality when we started putting price tags to it.” Manke said in a December interview. “And so we have to bring it back to reality, which I figured was going to happen from the get-go.” 

Voters approved sales tax hikes totaling four-tenths of 1% in 2023 after RS Security LLC, a consulting firm based in Nine Mile Falls, Wash., approximated construction costs at $68.8 million in a report published three months before the election. Contingencies, permitting fees, sales taxes and furnishings boosted the total to $97.5 million, with the RS Security LLC consultant determining the cost would rise to $127.8 million by the end of 2024 due to rising prices for labor and material. 

The consulting firm said they figured the money would pay for a building of more than 85,000 square feet that would include four courtrooms and 112 jail beds. Since then, costs and bed counts have fluctuated as county officials have estimated putting five courtrooms in a building as large as 90,000 square feet. 

Plans have also called for a 55,000 square foot building, with one courtroom and 145 jail beds, according to Manke. County officials said in a Dec. 4, 2025 press release that, as a cost saving measure, they intend to install metal panels instead of brick façade on the exterior, and some interior walls will be built from drywall instead of blocks. The changes have whittled expected construction costs from more than $100 million to approximately $73 million, according to the press release.

County officials have also reportedly told the state Project Review Committee in December 2024 that the facility would have 160 beds and that the total cost, including construction, design, furnishings and taxes, would reach $94.9 million. The county planned to issue a $99.4 million bond, according to documents submitted to the Project Review Committee.

“Honestly, the plan is going to continue to evolve,” Dean Davis, county grant administrator, said at the Jan. 15 meeting, as attendees reviewed floor plans. “So what you see tonight is not locked in at all. It’s very drafty.”

Based on legal advice, the commission may have to establish a citizen committee to seek public input into where the jail should be built, Young said at the meeting. He added that the most likely option remains land adjacent to the courthouse.

“I find it very difficult to believe that they (the committee) will find a site that is better,” Young said. “I’ve been looking for the last year at potential sites and haven’t seen one yet that I think would be a good site. Like I said, some of them are next to schools and churches and different things.” 

The project also has fallen behind schedule. Manke told the Statesman-Examiner that he expects to break ground this fall. 

“We were hoping for spring of 2026, but with the redesign, it pushed us back six months,” the sheriff said in December 2025.

The consulting firm told commissioners  at the Jan. 15 meeting that designing the jail will take a year, with construction expected to begin in the spring of 2027 and conclude in December, 2028.

The county so far has collected $5.6 million from the voter-approved sales tax hike, according to the board press release, and expects to collect $330,000 per month. County officials stated that they are aiming to land $4 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help pay for the new jail, adding that they hope for a low-interest loan from the state. 

The sheriff said he’ll need more employees when the jail opens. 

“We’re going to have to increase staffing a little bit just because it’s going to go from a 44-bed facility to a 140-some bed facility,” Manke said. “But with the more modern design, we can operate more efficiently – we don’t have to triple our staff because we’re tripling our beds. I have 15. We may have to add five.” 

In a follow-up text message, Manke said the jail, at full capacity, could require seven additional corrections officers and support staff. 

The sheriff said he expects the sales tax hike will cover the cost of new employees, and he’s confident the county will have sufficient funds to operate the jail. 

“We won’t open immediately at full capacity,” Manke said. “We’ll phase in however many extra inmates we’re bringing in.” 

The county averaged between 70-80 inmates per day, last summer, Manke said. The jail population dipped below 60 in early December, with more than a dozen inmates housed at the Ferry County jail. More people should be locked up, the sheriff said, but there isn’t room. People  suspected of misdemeanors are rarely booked, he said. 

“We’re not about throwing everybody in jail, but there’s a lot of people that we don’t put in jail who need to be there,” Manke said. “Suspended drivers, we never book them. Drugs – meth, heroin, fentanyl. It’s just a misdemeanor in Washington now. We don’t book them. Malicious mischief, hit and runs. Can’t. We don’t have the room.” 

Some county residents aren’t happy with the delays, Manke said. 

“People are frustrated, and we were lacking a little bit in keeping the public apprised on the steps,” the sheriff said. “People, I think, are feeling a little more relaxed. They still want it done today. But I think we’re doing a better job of educating the public.” 

Voters, Manke predicted, won’t be disappointed to see courtrooms cut from the project. 

“They were calling it a justice center because they were attaching courtrooms and clerk’s offices and all that kind of stuff,” Manke said. “When it comes down to brass tacks, our citizens really voted for a new jail – the jail portion is what they wanted.” 

Politics and money, the sheriff added, played a role in the evolution of a project that county officials hope will receive federal funds. 

“At the time, when we were starting this, that administration had no interest in helping build new jails,” Manke said. “They did have an interest in justice systems and court facilities. Political, very political. I’m not going to speak for the commissioners, but I think the eligibility for that federal funding helped inspire making it a justice center.”