Island County commissioners have a preliminary timeline for moving forward with a proposed jail replacement project and are planning on contracting with consultants to help with plans.

County Administrator Michael Jones and Facilities Director Ryan Beach presented the board with a report on the status of the effort during a workshop meeting Wednesday. Jones explained that the Jail Replacement Steering Committee has discussed such issues as controlling “project creep,” needs of a facility, the scope of the project and funding options.

Jones said it may be difficult to get grant funding for the project, so voters will likely have to decide whether to fund it. He said the committee hopes to get a measure before voters by the early part of 2026, though the exact funding mechanism hasn’t been chosen.

It’s a pretty tight timeline, as government projects go. He pointed out that the need for an updated facility is driving the timeline, plus keys players like the sheriff and prosecutor will still be in office at that point.

The county posted a Request for Proposal earlier this year to find a consulting firm to conduct a jail feasibility study. Beach said four firms applied and three were selected to give presentations. The staff and the committee recommended CGL Management Group, a Miami-based company with experience in similar projects.

Under the proposed contract, the feasibility study will cost the county about $250,000. The firm will be tasked with analyzing potential sites, creating a cost estimate, assessing program spaces and needs and prioritizing project elements.

In addition, the steering committee recommended that the county hire a public relations firm to help explain the project to the community.

Commissioner Melanie Bacon discussed the challenging of getting community buy-in on a jail project.

“I don’t think the citizens are going to be interested in giving criminals a pretty new place to live,” she said, adding that people would be much more willing to support a facility where people can get help with fentanyl addiction or mental health problems.

The jail was originally built in 1972 and updated in the early 1980s. It is built to house a maximum of 58 inmates, which isn’t adequate for the current population trends. Jail Chief Jose Briones previously explained that the facility is configured in a linear style, which is out-of-date and impedes the ability of corrections deputies to supervise.

The modern style, Briones said, is to have a large pod or pods built around a 360-degree central monitoring station so that corrections staff and inmates can see each other. The theory, he said, is that “kids act differently when there is an adult in the room.” The current jail lacks natural light, which is a concern.

Jones said the jail does an impressive number of services and programs in a constrained space, but officials would like to have additional options — such as work release.