Crook County is pushing ahead with study of a proposal to convert Pioneer Memorial Hospital into a “Justice Center” that would include a larger jail and possibly space for the county’s courts and district attorney’s office, as well as both the Prineville Police Department and Crook County Sheriff’s Office.

Wednesday, the Crook County Court heard a 45-minute presentation on the proposal, hearing from Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe, Crook County Sheriff Jim Hensley and a handful of local residents.

In April 2013, St. Charles Health System announced plans to replace Pioneer Memorial Hospital, and it has since selected a site on Combs Flat Road, the former home of Ochoco Lumber. Construction of the new $30 million hospital is scheduled to begin early this year, and the facility is expected to open in mid-2015.

Shortly after the announcement, Prineville and Crook County began studying the possibility that Pioneer could provide badly needed jail space, as well as a place for other public safety-related functions.

Roppe reported Wednesday that the council has voted against offering any more money toward further study beyond the $7,500 it has pledged already, with members observing that it is the county’s responsibility to provide jail services.

At the close of Wednesday’s presentation, the County Court elected to spend an additional $11,385 to look at the reliability of the heating, cooling and electrical systems at the hospital. Commissioner Seth Crawford said such information is essential if the court is to go to the public with a solid estimate of what it will cost to remodel.

The county currently has a 16-bed jail in the basement of the Prineville Police Department and rents another 16 beds from the Jefferson County Jail in Madras. The 160-bed facility in Jefferson County operates at a little over one-third capacity, including those inmates it houses on behalf of Crook and Deschutes counties.

Due to the limited space available, offenders sentenced to serve jail time in Crook County are regularly placed on a wait list, often waiting several weeks to serve their sentence when space is available. Inmates serving time are routinely released early to make room for those thought to be a greater threat to public safety.

Hensley said he’s released 15 inmates this week and has 98 people on the jail wait list.

A November report prepared by DLR Group suggested the county needs approximately 67 beds and will need between 67 and 81 through 2033 to avoid early releases and eliminate waiting periods.

Judge Mike McCabe said that while some living near the current hospital have expressed concerns about having inmates released into their neighborhood, the current crowding has inmates being turned out on the street at all hours.

“With an adequate jail, an adequate facility to keep them they would not be turned out in the middle of the night, they’d be released in the morning,” he said. “Right now they are, somewhat, because of facility space.”

Hensley said estimates put the cost of building a 62-bed jail at the hospital at $6.7 million, in addition to around $3 million to purchase the building from St. Charles Health System. The jail could be expanded to 80 beds for possibly another $1 million, he said, and the rest of the facility remodeled for another $1 million, providing a home for all public safety agencies for around $10 to $12 million.

Hensley said the figure compares favorably with the cost of new construction to replace existing facilities. Estimates from the Police Department put the cost of building a new police station including a 911 dispatch center at $13 million, he said, while DLR has estimated it would require $13 million to build a 70-bed jail, including a Sheriff’s Office and emergency operations center.

McCabe said he’d be open to including even more public safety entities in the new facility, possibly the county’s parole and probation departments.

“We’d try to make it all inclusive, whether it gets there or not, but we certainly have the square footage to do all of that,” he said.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins has written to the County Court to push for a long-term contract to house Crook County inmates, and he is urging the county to abandon the idea of renovating the hospital.

Hensley said he believes Crook County can realize significant savings by running its own jail, when the cost of deputies used for moving inmates back and forth from Prineville to Madras is considered.

By Hensley’s estimates, if Crook County’s operational costs are equal to those at the Jefferson County facility, the county would save nearly $6.4 million over 10 years to operate an 80-bed jail as compared to the cost of renting the same capacity from Jefferson County.

“The staff we have to keep at night to transport is part of our problem; logistics and things like that are just enormous,” he said.

Hensley said operating a county jail would give his department options it doesn’t currently have with Jefferson County. Crook County is currently holding one inmate Jefferson County refuses to take due to his disruptive behavior. Because the small Crook County jail does not have a way of isolating the inmate, the county has taken to renting space for him at the Washington County jail in Hillsboro. Moving the inmate back and forth between Washington County and Crook County is a 12- to 14-hour day for two deputies, Hensley said.

In December, Crook County renewed its contract to house 16 inmates with Jefferson County for another six months, an agreement that will expire June 30.

Once the latest stage of the feasibility study is complete, the County Court intends to host a joint meeting with the Prineville City Council to share its findings and refined cost estimates with the public.

— Reporter: 541-383-0387, shammers@bendbulletin.com