Frequently Asked Questions

Westside Reception Center Site Selection and Environmental Impact Statement Scoping

Q. What is the next step in this process?

A. The three sites will be analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). An EIS is a document that provides positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed project. The EIS will compare data and perform an impact evaluation under the state of Washington environmental requirements. A cost analysis will also be part of the review.

Q. Why was the Maple Lane site selected?

A. Due to the current fiscal crisis, the legislative and executive branches have continued to seek savings for both capital and operating costs. Maple Lane, a property currently owned and operated as a juvenile facility was identified because the state already owns the property and could result in cost savings in both property acquisition and reuse of some facilities. Maple Lane was selected as the site where $5 to $10 million in savings could be potentially achieved.

Q. Can I arrange a tour of a DOC facility?

A. The main facility web page has information for individual facility visiting rules and schedules.

Back to Top

Q. What are the projected utility needs for this project?

Utility Service

Amount

Potable Water — Average

102,400 gpd

Potable Water — Peak

179,200 gpd

Fire flow

360,000 gal (2,000 gpm for 120 minutes)

Sewer Volume — Avg. Daily

92,160 gpd

Sewer Flow — Peak Hour

128 gpm

Sewer BOD — Average

250 mg⁄l

Sewer BOD — Average

225 lbs⁄d

Sewer BOD — Range

200 – 300 mg⁄l

Sewer TSS — Average

250 mg⁄l

Sewer TSS — Average

225 lbs⁄d

Sewer TSS — Range

200 – 300 mg⁄l

Gas—connected load

27,000 cu ft⁄hr

Power—Connected load

7 mega watt

Power—Operational load

3 mega watt

Cable TV

Up to 300 entertainment television locations

Customer—owned optical fiber and coaxial cable distribution system from service entrance location

Telephone

One service to support 600 voice pairs for administration

Second service to support approx. 50 inmate telephone pairs

Copper service or derived from optical fiber data service

Data via Optical Fiber

Single—mode (10 Gb⁄s) optical fiber;

12—strands (includes spare)

Back to Top

Q. Can DOC co—locate with a local government in a facility shared with a municipal police department?

A. Yes, but the local government must provide their financial share for their spaces or area used.

Q. Will DOC provide assistance in public education and outreach efforts?

A. Assistance will be provided to shortlisted sites. No assistance will be provided prior to January 21, 2010.

Q. Can multiple jurisdictions support the same site?

A. Yes and this is encouraged if different jurisdictions control resources important to a site. For example, a property in county jurisdiction, but needing wastewater support from a nearby city should indicate support from both jurisdictions.

A state agency owned property can be nominated by a local government with written concurrence of the state agency.

Back to Top

Q. Can a community identify more than one site proposal for consideration?

A. Yes.

Q. Why does the Department of Corrections need a new reception center?

A. The Washington Caseload Forecast Council predicts a bed shortage for male offenders in Washington State by 2016.

The need is also driven by the legislature’s decision to close old and inefficient housing units around the state. It would cost less to construct new buildings than it would to bring some of the existing buildings up to current standards for fire protection, earthquake, energy and environmental requirements. And the new units would cost less to maintain and operate in the long run.

While the Legislature approved funds to find a location and pay for pre—design costs, legislators have not yet approved the funds for construction. The construction dollars will be requested in the future.

Back to Top

Q. Who approved funding this project?

A. Funding for site selection and predesign was provided in the Supplemental Budget which was approved by the 2010 Legislature.

Q. How much will construction cost?

A. The estimated construction cost of the project is $167 million.

Q. What is a reception center?

A. A reception center is the first place offenders go after sentencing. Offenders are brought to the facility from local jails throughout Washington State. Their physical and mental health is assessed, security and management needs are evaluated, and long—term placement is determined. After these steps, the offenders are assigned to other correctional facilities in the state.

Back to Top

Q. Who will be housed at the reception center?

A. The proposed 1,024 bed reception center will house male offenders with new convictions for an average of four weeks. During this time, all offenders admitted to the facility for a new conviction will be managed as close—custody.

The facility could also house offenders moving from one facility to another; custody levels for these offenders range from minimum to maximum custody.

The Department of Corrections uses a well established screening process to determine the appropriate custody level for each offender. This process ensures an adequate level of staff supervision and security necessary to maintain public safety.

The facility will provide reception beds, segregation beds, and program areas for intake, assessment, classification, food service, health services, administration, and support services.

Back to Top

Q. How large is the proposed reception center?

A. The estimated space need for the building is 356,000 gross square feet. The Department of Corrections is looking for an area that can support the estimated space layout.

Q. Are there similar facilities in Washington?

A. The Department of Corrections does not have a stand—alone reception center with a single mission and goals related to transitioning offenders through the statewide corrections system.

The Washington Corrections Center (WCC) in Shelton, WA, currently provides reception operations for the agency. Building a new reception center will restore WCC to its original role as a multi—custody prison, providing additional beds indentified by the caseload forecast for the future.

Q. What are the steps involved in the siting process of the reception center?

A. The site selection process will occur in five stages as shown in the graphic below. The first step is site identification, identifying those sites that communities believe meet the minimum criteria. These potential sites will then go through site screening to determine which ones are likely to meet more site—specific criteria. The candidate sites that remain after screening will be rigorously evaluated “on the ground” through a site analysis assessment stage to determine which three sites should be analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will collect and compare data on the alternative sites and perform an impact evaluation under State of Washington environmental requirements. The final step is acquisition and development of the site.

Steps involved in the siting process

Back to Top

Q. What is the current siting schedule?

A. Initial letter of interest must be submitted by January 6, 2011, and site data must be submitted to the Department of Corrections by January 21, 2011. The site selection and EIS process are planned to be completed by December 2011.

Q. What is the siting area?

A. The facility will be sited at a location in Western Washington that best meets the siting criteria. The Department of Corrections is seeking a location that meets community, government, and sustainability goals. This effort requires the Department to work closely with local communities to conduct a step—by—step process that identifies appropriate sites, provides for community participation, and comprehensively evaluates all possible sites.

Back to Top

Q. What makes a site suitable for placement of a reception center?

A. A detailed list of site criteria is detailed in the November 10th letter. However, initial site criteria will be based on the following characteristics:

  • Parcel size and developable area of a minimum of 35 acres with a preferred area of 40—50 acres;
  • Availability of the site for acquisition and development;
  • Presence of site constraints, such as critical areas, contamination or identified cultural resources;
  • Consistency with adopted land use policies;
  • Presence of utilities and capacity to serve the facility;
  • Capacity of emergency service providers to serve the facility;
  • Proximity to population centers for workforce and services; and
  • Access to a primary highway.

Q. What are the siting criteria?

A. The list of siting criteria is available on the procurement area of this website. If a community is interested in submitting a site or sites for consideration, a letter of interest must be submitted to the Department of Corrections no later than January 6, 2011. Expression of interest is non—binding, but indicates a commitment to provide requested site data by January 21, 2011 and participate in the selection process with the Department.

Sites may be properties owned by public or private entities. However, all site proposals must originate from the elected body (e.g. City, County, Port, or Tribe) with jurisdiction for the proposed site. Independent submittals from private parties, non—jurisdictional public agencies, or other organizations will not be considered.

Back to Top

Q. Can the reception center be sited in a community that does not want it?

A. The Department of Corrections is committed to being a good neighbor. This commitment starts with the site selection process. In order for a facility to be sited successfully, communities expressing interest in hosting the facility must demonstrate their own commitment to involve local leaders and citizens in site selection and facility design.

Q. Who is responsible for selecting a site?

A. The Department of Corrections is responsible for selecting a site. This will begin with an initial screening analysis to identify whether the proposed sites meet minimum qualifications. Based on these findings, the Department will conduct a more specific assessment of the suitability of sites based on a range of physical, environmental, engineering, and community characteristics. This review is intended to narrow the field to three of the most suitable sites, which will then be evaluated in detail through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We anticipate final site selection by December 2011.

Q. How will a new reception center affect my community?

A. To meet the day—to—day needs of staff and offender population, community services are required. Potential impacts include increased demand for local services, such as fire protection, emergency response and medical care, water and sewer service, and law enforcement. Local roadway improvements may also be required.

These impacts are site—specific and depend on the size of the community and its ability to provide these services. Once a site is selected, the Department will continue to inform and involve the chosen community in facility design, operation, and oversight. The Department will also lead a process that promotes an atmosphere of transparency and community partnership.

The impacts of the facility will be identified and agreed to by the community and the Department before a final site selection is made.

Back to Top

Q. Will there be an increase in the number of offenders released in to my community?

A. No. The offenders passing through the reception center are only there for a short time before being moved to a different institution to serve their sentence. In addition, Washington State law requires that offenders releasing from prison return to their original county of origin.

Q. Will this facility draw offender families to our community?

A. Because inmates only reside at this facility for a short time on the way to the longer term facility, there would be little value in any family moving to the area of the reception center.

Q. What kind of community involvement will there be in the site selection process?

A. After sites are submitted for consideration, the Department of Corrections project team will work in partnership with local governments to address questions, clarify data, and keep the community apprised of the selection process as it progresses.

Each community is responsible for leading their local public process in considering the proposed site(s). We strongly encourage communities to get an early start on developing an effective public outreach process. The Department and the consulting team are staffed to serve as a resource in local community discussions.

Back to Top

Q. What kind of job opportunities will there be at the reception center?

A. Positions at the reception center will range from healthcare professionals to warehouse employees. Many of the positions are likely to go to people living near the site. Substantial efforts will be made to site the facility where qualified workers can be recruited locally. Washington State Department of Personnel qualifications and procedures will apply. Training is provided to all staff employed at the facility to ensure ongoing community safety.

To provide an estimate of the possible jobs for a community the current reception center employs:

  • 322 Correctional officers and other custody staff
  • 185 Administrative, maintenance and operations staff
  • 79 Health care professionals

Q. What are the benefits of having the reception center in a community?

A. In addition to local employment and purchases, other local economic development opportunities typical of any new industry can be expected. Correctional jobs provide law enforcement family wage employment opportunities at a variety of levels.

Q. How will the reception center affect traffic?

A. Traffic is an important factor for the Department and will most likely be a concern for the community surrounding the facility. In order to minimize impact on local communities and to increase the Department’s overall efficiency in transportation, one of the key screening criteria is that the site must be within 30 minutes drive time from Interstate 5 or Interstate 90 and be served by a local arterial.

As part of the EIS, thorough traffic studies will be completed on the finalist sites to identify and minimize traffic impacts. Public transportation options will also be assessed during the initial site screening process.

Back to Top

Q. How can impacts be mitigated?

A. To offset community service demands directly related to reception center operations, state law allows communities to apply for state assistance. Project construction funds may be used to construct or expand local public works facilities. Reimbursement for criminal justice costs, contingency planning, and medical costs to cities and counties may also be requested. The costs of mitigation will be determined and agreed to prior to final site selection.

Q. Where will goods and services come from?

A. The Department of Corrections will purchase a wide variety of goods and services in the community. Local purchases typically include building materials, automotive parts and repairs, electronic supplies, janitorial supplies, and utilities. Services such as dental care, health care, pest control, and fire protection are also often locally contracted.

Q. How can I be involved in the process?

A. Please visit the project website for additional information about the proposed facility and the site selection process. You may submit questions through the website. Responses will be posted on a regular basis.

Back to Top