Jail measure comes back for another try.

Byline: BILL BISHOP The Register-Guard

Many Lane County voters will recognize Ballot Measure 20-59 the way they would a neighbor's cat begging at the back door.

For the fourth time in as many years, county officials are seeking additional money to replace the deteriorating intake center at the Lane County Jail in Eugene with a larger building that will slow the catch-and-release process that has become typical for nonviolent offenders.

Like with the neighbor's cat, now and then the county comes close to finding a sympathetic handout. An identical measure failed in 1998 by 13 votes in a recount, the closest margin in county election history.

Measure 20-59 would raise $10.7 million to replace the 35-bed intake center with one that would hold 100 inmates. It also would upgrade the jail's medical center to match the county's 485-bed jail and 95-bed Forest Work Camp. The current medical center was designed for the jail's original 223 beds.

The 23-year-old intake center still stands, even though its floors sink and its walls crack from unstable soil under the building. Cell doors have been shaved so they can still fit into their out-of-kilter frames.

But those structural shortcomings pale in comparison to the operational bottleneck that is created as thousands of inmates pass through the center each year, jail officials say.

Some prisoners are held there for up to 72 hours to sober up from drug or alcohol abuse while jail staff monitor them to decide what level of security they'll need when moved into the jail's general population, or whether they can be safely released under supervision or put in a treatment program.

When the intake center is full, which is often, inmates are sent directly from book-in to the jail's general population.

Once there, the inmates often are released because of over- crowding.

Sheriff's Capt. John Clague, who manages the jail, said a larger intake center would allow officials to make better decisions about jail custody, community supervision and treatment options for inmates.

The extra intake center beds also will reduce the number of inmates who must be released without supervision under a court order that caps the daily jail population at 451 prisoners.

Each year, about 4,500 inmates are chosen for release under a federal court-ordered system that takes into account their current offenses, past criminal records and history of appearing for scheduled court hearings.

In recent years, one-third of all inmates were released under that system. After the county opened the Forest Work Camp, the number of such releases dropped to 24 percent; Clague believes the number might fall to 19 percent with a new intake center.

It's an old and familiar problem, said Gretchen Pierce, a businesswoman who serves on the county's Public Safety Coordinating Council, which is charged with studying the various public safety agencies in the county and recommending ways to make them more efficient and effective.

"It's very easy to understand: Jail capacity is jail capacity," Pierce said.

"I see this as a very creative and more productive way to expand the capacity of the jail at a very inexpensive price."

However, not all voters agree that more jail beds will be the answer, said Tricia Hedin, another member of the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

Many urban voters believe funding programs to prevent crime and to help offenders reform and recover from drug addictions are a better long-term use of tax dollars, Hedin said, but rural voters want their taxes to go for more sheriff's patrols, not for more jail beds.

"I think a lot of people will be opposed to this measure," she added.

A big question is where the county will find the money to operate a new intake center, Hedin said.

A jail staffing analysis done with a federal grant shows the new center would require six new full-time employees at a cost of $230,000 per year for salaries alone, Clague said.

Sheriff Jan Clements hopes to shift some of the current 275 full-time county corrections employees to fill the need, Clague said. If that can't be done, the sheriff will seek additional money from the county's general fund, he said.

As a last resort, the least cost-efficient wing of the jail might be closed so the intake center could be staffed, Clague said. "That is the least palatable, to me," he said, but, "the bottom line is, we will operate it."

MEASURE 20-59: JAIL INTAKE CENTER

What it is: A $10.7-million bond measure to replace the 35-bed Lane County Jail Intake Center in Eugene with a new 100-bed structure, and to expand medical screening and treatment space for inmates.

Why it's needed: To provide better evaluation of inmates to determine where they should be held. The added beds will reduce court-ordered early releases to ease jail overcrowding.

What won't be covered: Operating costs, which cannot be covered by a bond measure. Existing staff will be transferred, additional staff will be hired or a wing of the jail will be closed to pay for operating the new center.

Cost to taxpayers: Depends upon whether the bonds are repaid over 15, 20 or 30 years. The estimated cost for the owner of a $125,000 home would range from an additional $3.30 per year in annual property taxes for 30 years to $5.54 per year for 15 years.