Chelan County Wash

Moving Selah inmates from Yakima to Chelan County will save city thousands

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Some of Selah's felony inmates will soon begin serving their time in Chelan County, marking the first time that a local city has gone outside Yakima County for contract jail services.

The reason for the switch is financial.

Chelan County, which was looking to fill empty beds, recruited Selah with an offer to charge $10 less a day per prisoner than what it has been paying the Yakima County jail. Selah's City Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Chelan County that sets the daily rate per inmate at $70 through the end of 2012.

"It's a business, like anything else, and the taxpayers are the employer. If we can save some money for the taxpayer, so be it," Selah Mayor Bob Jones said.

Police Chief Stacy Dwarshius estimates he can save $3,000 to $5,000 per year. The city has budgeted about $97,000 for jail and medical services this year, but that number can spike unexpectedly.

Selah had nine felony inmates in the county jail as of Tuesday, but the city's annual inmate figures were not immediately available. Misdemeanor inmates are held in Wapato.

That Selah would reach so far from home for a place to lodge its inmates is a sign of both the state's competitive jail market and of local government's efforts to find spare dollars wherever it can.

And although Selah's felony prisoners are just a blip on the screen, Yakima County jail officials are already taking steps to retain current customers and attract more.

Chelan County jailers will pick up Selah prisoners in Yakima and transport them to Wenatchee. Some in-house medical care will also be provided as part of the contract.

The contract only applies to felony prisoners with less than a year left to serve following their sentencing. Inmates awaiting trial will still be held at Yakima County's jail; convicts with more than a year left to serve on their terms go to a state prison.

Ed Campbell, director of the county's Department of Corrections, said Selah is the only one of the local cities to take inmates outside of the county. The rest have booking agreements with the county.

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Reported that the Association officers del Lago Vista owners recently crossed the 80-lot park wondering what a Chelan County Code Enforcer would find. A Chelan County hearings examiner has recently ruled that the permanent houses are not allowed in the park approved for recreational vehicles.

"We expect housing will not be moved, but we're in limbo right now waiting for the county down," said Dave Sneesby, chairman of the group.

Chelan County commissioners have been after residents of the RV park for more than a decade to comply with dozens of building code infractions as structures have become increasingly permanent-looking. Commissioners allowed after-the-fact permits to be paid in previous inspections of the park. But a recent ruling by Chelan County Hearing Examiner Andrew Kottkamp came down harder, saying that residences defined as permanent rather than temporary would have to be removed. The homeowners association did not appeal the ruling.

Most residents do come and go, but many of the homes on the lots are hardly mobile. The lots were originally put up for lease, but were later put up for sale. All are now privately owned. The original developer, Eastland Corp., owned by Dave and Kathleen Jewell, is no longer involved.

“Everyone here did what they did in good faith according to the rules at the time,” said Bev Eickhoff, a retired teacher and the association’s secretary.

Brian Webber, another retired teacher from Everett, bought the trailer on lot 33 just last year. He thinks the trailer will conform to code, but it might have to be moved, along with its massive deck, because it was placed too close to the next lot.

“Obviously, you don’t buy a place thinking you’re going to have to move your whole home,” he said.

The Wenatchee World reported that Chelan County Commissioner Doug England said inspectors have already drawn up a rough map of the park but will next go through and inspect it lot by lot to determine what changes have to be made. That should happen soon, he said. With paved roads, concrete driveways and attractive landscaping, Vista del Lago could be a model of recreational home living. The park has a broad mix of Airstreams, fifth-wheel trailers, motorhomes and park model trailers.