Franklin County OKs money to draft renovation plans for bicounty juvenile justice center

Franklin County commissioners agreed Wednesday to pay about $36,000 toward the architectural and engineering plans to renovate the bicounty Juvenile Justice Center.

They approved the money despite comments Tuesday by their Benton County counterparts questioning bicounty partnerships.

Reassurances by Benton-Franklin Superior Court's presiding judge about the need for improvements made a difference.

Judge Bruce Spanner told the Franklin County board that separating the Superior Court system, including the juvenile court, would take state legislative action.

"The judges are all together," he said. "We believe it benefits both counties to have a joint judicial district."

On Tuesday, the Benton County commissioners complained about some of their partnerships with Franklin County. The two counties jointly operate services such as human services, public defense and Superior Court.

They said the first area to address is the joint human resources department, but also said they shouldn't have to pay for 70 percent of the costs for the juvenile center, compared to Franklin County's 30 percent.

Spanner said he understands why Benton County, which pays a larger share of joint programs because it has more population, would be frustrated.

However, he said if the counties were to split up their joint operation of certain services it would likely cost more.

And, he said, "It gives us great flexibility to resolve the legal issues of our citizens."

Getting a commitment from the judges is important in making a decision on the juvenile center, said Commissioner Rick Miller, who had previously wavered on paying for the estimated $122,000 architectural study.

Commissioners had brief discussions in recent months with Benton County commissioners about having Benton County own the juvenile center and contract its use to Franklin County.

Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck said Franklin County would need to know how much that would cost before agreeing to it, adding that he supports keeping the current partnership together.

"If someone else is making these decisions, and you don't have those cost controls, the expenses could skyrocket," he said.

The Juvenile Justice Center project is estimated to cost $5.7 million to remodel the existing building, or $8.3 million if more court and program space is added, said Darryl Banks, the center's administrator.

Building a new structure might be more secure than trying to fix up the facility built in the late 1970s off West Canal Drive in Kennewick, Peck said.

"I think there are efficiencies that can be gained that we can't reach in a remodel," he said.

Also Wednesday, commissioners:

-- Approved a $38,869 bid for new carpet at the TRAC event center with Great Floors of Kennewick.

-- Bought a tractor loader with a backhoe for $76,400. The county had been using a 1987 backhoe for construction and maintenance.

-- Geoff Folsom: 509-582-1543; gfolsom@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @GeoffFolsom

This story was originally published September 17, 2014 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Franklin County OKs money to draft renovation plans for bicounty juvenile justice center."