2012-1827-Minutes for Meeting September 12,2012 Recorded 10/18/2012DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL NANCY BLANKENSHIP, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII 2012-1827 CLERKDS ICJ 2012.1827 10/18/2012 09:54:53 AM Do not remove this page from original document. Deschutes County Clerk Certificate Page Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF SPECIAL WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Present were Commissioners Anthony DeBone, Tammy Baney and Alan Unger. Also present was Erik Kropp, Interim County Administrator, and from the District Attorney's Office, Mary Anderson and Nichole Brown. No representatives of the media were present. Chair DeBone opened the meeting at 10:45 a.m. Commissioner Baney said she received a couple of calls from people wondering what the Board did yesterday regarding the jail situation. As she understands it, the Board determined they would not sell bonds to pay for an expansion of the existing facility, and will commission an analysis of the needs for a detention facility and programs. They asked staff to come back in two weeks with an interim plan showing the costs associated with the options, including renovating the downtown building to meet short-term needs. They will also discuss the costs associated with NorCor as a short-term option; and make a determination on an interim Juvenile move while the needs are studied. Commissioner Unger agrees with the first part, but is still not sure of the path on the last. He is still having trouble getting all of the relevant information instilled down to get a good grasp of the issue. They spend a lot of money on Juvenile services, but a lot is more than just having the kids sit around. He has not figured out yet what the typical costs expected are for this. Will those services have to be reduced? He is not sure either if moving the kids out of the present facility is the best idea. If there is a certain level required by law, will the costs stay the same no matter what. Maybe with reduced capacity they still won't save that much. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 1 of 6 Commissioner Baney stated that she checked with Linn-Benton. A detention facility is not mandated. Linn-Benton went together and have twenty beds, with an average population of fourteen. Not unlike here, it is kind of an average. They have 15 FTE and a $1.6 million budget. It is a question how they are doing this and what they are providing. Other facilities are similar. Due to the complexities, they are about as lean as they can be here. Commissioner Unger stated that there is no clear path. They may not save that much money and still will have to spend money on improvements to something else that is short-term. Per the OMNI report, adding to the jail, this is a phase of the report that keeps the County on an incremental change, a long-term view. He sees the need for a Juvenile system with more capacity than it needs and an opportunity to right-size for the future, but it is unclear whether it will save that much money. As the population grows, the need may grow as well. This is all happening too fast. Commissioner Baney said that they are on the fast track to make a decision. They won't be adding to the existing facility. Commissioner Unger stated he is concerned about the Supreme Court decision hanging over them as well. He is no against using the old facility if it makes sense, but there is not much funding available and he wants to make sure it is done right. Chair DeBone said his vision is moving kids into the Juvenile facility as an agent of change. Knowing there is $3 million overhead, will this be cut in half? Then they will find out who screams the loudest and what the bad choices were. There will be a chain of events. They will do the best they can, maybe not take in the out-of-towners. This is not the right solution in the long run. Steady population growth with dictate more change. They need to move forward, make things happen and engage partner counties more. Commissioner Unger said the relationship with the other counties is a challenge. They perceive Deschutes County being too expensive. They don't do accounting of the soft costs the same way. It is more expensive here due to salaries, etc., and it is hard to be competitive this way. They can't count on the other counties to put the juveniles here. Other than that, they will look for cheaper solutions. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 2 of 6 Mr. Kropp said they are not covering bed costs with rent. They are subsidizing. But, it is revenue that is needed to cover some of the fixed costs. You try to fill it up if you have empties. You go through these tasks, look at options, and make a decision on what it looks like and the associated costs. The next step might be to set a date to move Juvenile and let the Sheriff's Office take over that space. Chair DeBone said the interim step would be to open the old space and use it. It is possible it might be the right size for now. Commissioner Baney added that they would have to invest some funds for the short term. Commissioner Unger said that he would want to see those numbers. Commissioner Baney indicated they need to make a decision on the interim in two weeks. Judge Brady wants them to have 12 beds. They need to know the costs to make it livable and the timeline. Then the actual transition plan can come into play. The study would come in later, determining the number of beds, costs and whether to move forward with another facility. Commissioner Baney asked if this should be brought to PSCC. Commissioner Unger said that he is not sure they would be supportive. Commissioner Baney stated she would not ask about the policy piece, but operational issues, from the D.A., the police chiefs and others that might be impacted. She said the other option might be NorCor and not expanding the downtown facility at all. Commissioner Unger emphasized that he wants to know if this is the right path to reduce costs for Juvenile services. They need a best guess now, not a long study to get some basic numbers. Is what they pay normal and expected, and whether this is the right direction. Commissioner Baney said she is struggling with getting information that she thinks will be unbiased. Chair DeBone noted that NorCor is already at $150 per bed. Commissioner Unger asked about the programs. Commissioner Baney stated that the presiding Judge said there is no longer a thirty-day program, although they were told by others that it still exists. Chair DeBone said that J Bar J representatives said the academy in La Pine is closing. It has video capability but is not a secure facility. He is not sure of the details. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 3 of 6 Commissioner Baney said they should look at all availability in the area. Mr. Kropp stated they need to explain the scope of the study fully. Commissioner Baney said they were asked whether they are putting the study out for bid. Mr. Kropp noted that it is not necessary since it is a specialty; that would delay it even more. Chair De Bone said that the bond issue in Clackamas County involved three out of five Commissioners that want to bond now due to a commitment to a rail project, and don't want it on the ballot. It is expensive and time-consuming to run it through a measure. The Supreme Court is looking at this for that reason. It's a political issue. There won't be that much tension around this issue here, and probably would not be enough to force it to a vote. The Supreme Court is worried about the Commissioners not allowing this to go to a vote; not necessarily the bonding process. Commissioner Baney said she does not see a bond being taken off the table. It may be right for this County. Commissioner Unger added that he does not want to delay this any longer. Two years is not acceptable. Commissioner Baney said that they are mandated to provide jail services, so this is the priority. Chair DeBone noted that with more activity coming, there will be more problems with growth. Commissioner Unger stated that the problem is a systems failure, not just the jail. This includes the court function, attorneys, defense and all those needed to keep things flowing. The County has no control over much of this. Commissioner Baney stated the AOC leadership team was told that here the pretrial numbers are about 70-75%. Some counties are doing something different in this regard. They have to be able to categorize for expansion. She suggested another tour of the jail, the reasons for separation and different treatment. Commissioner Unger said that whether or not there is a systems problem, they need to be able to operate the jail. Mr. Kropp stated that they can't wait for the study on Juvenile needs. This needs to be a short-term fix for the jail at last. Commissioner Baney said that they need an interim step, either the old building or NorCor. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 4 of 6 Mary Anderson said the District Attorney's office will release the grand jury report that reviews the function of the jail. The Juvenile space is not being used well. Regarding the comment on pretrial release, several years ago they had a release assistance officer to help find alternatives for supervisors. These positions were removed due to budget issues. However, this is an important role in federal courts in many counties. The position was removed due to budget issues. They screen people, interview, and decide whether a third-party release is suitable. This might help with the numbers. She strongly suggested this be discussed at PSCC. Commissioner Baney noted that the operations piece is important. The policy decision on a facility is up to the Board. They need to know the impact on others, however. She will mention this to Judge Sullivan. Commissioner Unger added that he supports the direction this is going, but as he learns more, he may bring up other concerns. The Board went into executive session under ORS 192.660(2) d), labor negotiations, at 10:20 a.m. After executive session, the Board took action. BANEY: Move that the County Administrator respond as directed in executive session. UNGER: Second. VOTE: BANEY: UNGER: DEBONE: Yes. Yes. Chair votes yes. Being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 11:50 a.m. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 5 of 6 DATED this Day of y ~ 2012 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. ATTEST: Recording Secretary Anthony DeBone, Chair l~ Alan Unger, Vice Chair Tammy ney, Co missioner Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Special Work Session Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Page 6 of 6 Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org WORK SESSION AGENDA DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 10:30 A.M., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 1. Jail Expansion Discussion - Continued 2. Other Items PLEASE NOTE: At any time during this meeting, an executive session could be called to address issues relating to ORS 192.660(2) (e), real property negotiations; ORS 192.660(2) (h), litigation; ORS 192.660(2)(d), labor negotiations; or ORS 192.660(2) (b), personnel issues. Meeting dates, times and discussion items are subject to change. All meetings are conducted in the Board of Commissioners' meeting rooms at 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, unless otherwise indicated. If you have questions regarding a meeting, please call 388-6572. Deschutes County meeting locations are wheelchair accessible. Deschutes County provides reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. For deaf, hearing impaired or speech disabled, dial 7-1-1 to access the state transfer relay service for TTY. Please call (541) 388-6571 regarding alternative formats or for further information.