Puyallup wants to build a jail. It would be a costly mistake. Here’s a better idea | Opinion

This is the third attempt by the city of Puyallup to pass a bond levy for a new jail.

The need for a new police station is not something I question at all; it’s necessary. The issue has always been about the wisdom of building the proposed jail and the plan to lease bed space in it.

This is a project created by desire, not by necessity or analysis. Puyallup voters should again reject this project.

The city claimed in the last two proposals that building a courthouse was also necessary. Opponents maintained that the municipal court in a leased space was an effective and fiscally prudent choice. By floating this latest proposal, the city implicitly admits that building a new courthouse isn’t necessary.

Opponents of a new jail, like me, maintain that leasing jail space is a better choice than building and operating a jail.

Building a new jail is a 30-year commitment and leasing any needed jail beds is cheaper than building and operating a new jail. Each city has a limited amount of bonds it can issue. This isn’t the best use of Puyallup’s limited bonding capacity. A 30-year commitment to paying down bonds for a jail equals roads, sidewalks and parks that will never get built.

Most cities in Washington State do not own or operate a jail. The city of Lakewood, with a population about 50% larger than Puyallup’s, has functioned well without having its own jail. Most cities, like Lakewood, lease the needed jail space because it is a cheaper alternative. Operating a jail versus leasing space costs city taxpayers over a million dollars more a year, Operating a city jail vs utilizing space at the county jail costs city taxpayers over $1 million dollars more per year, according to estimates from the Puyallup Voters for Integrity PAC.

For as much as the city is telling residents, it leaves out some important facts.

For example, the project will cost you more than what you have been told. The city will sell bonds to build the jail. Interest rates are at a 23-year high. That increases the cost of the project.

Second, although the city has a plan for the size of the facility (each proposal by the city has gotten smaller but each time the city has said the project is “right-sized”), until the city goes to public bid, we will not know what a builder will charge for the work.

In a recent Seattle Times article, the state Department of Transportation reported receiving fewer bidders on projects and bids that at times came in at 40% over the engineers’ estimates. For the Puyallup project that means the city will need to raise more money or will have to build a smaller project.

Either way, the city won’t be fulfilling the promises made to the taxpayer. You will be paying more and getting less. High interest rates and more expensive construction bids mean it’s a bad time to go out to bid and build.

Because it is cheaper to lease jail space than to build and operate a jail, and because we should be using our limited bonding capacity to build needed infrastructure, Puyallup residents should again vote no.

This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 5:00 AM.