The cities of Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila announced Thursday that they will partner to build and operate a 668-bed misdemeanor jail to serve their common needs.

And they have formed an organization known as the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) to make it happen.

SCORE members hope to have the new jail ready to accept its first misdemeanor offenders by mid-2011. The cities must build the jail to replace jail space that King County jails will no longer provide after 2012.

Most of the inmates who will be housed there have been arrested or sentenced to jail time for property crimes such as theft, driving offenses and criminal trespass. The average length of stay for these inmates is approximately 14 days.

SCORE will be responsible for the operation of the new jail. A corresponding public development authority (PDA) will issue bonds, allowing for construction of the facility. SCORE is being modeled after the highly successful Valley Communications Center, a regional 911 call center, which is owned by the City of Kent and four of the SCORE partner cities: Auburn, Federal Way, Renton and Tukwila.

“As part of their commitment to crime prevention and recidivism reduction, the cities hope to partner with King County to provide treatment programs and services to misdemeanor offenders, providing effective solutions for the citizens of South King County,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “We are at a point where we can no longer afford to do business the old way. We must work in partnership to control our costs as good stewards of the people’s money. We must find new ways to treat inmates with drug and alcohol problems to break the cycle of abuse, crime and jail.”

“This is a great partnership that brings our cities together to build a regional jail facility to meet our future needs,” said Renton Mayor Denis Law. “It is also a commitment to solid fiscal policy and protects taxpayer dollars. We face economic challenges unlike any we’ve ever seen. Now, more than ever, we must make the wisest investments possible that will ultimately save us millions of dollars.”

“SCORE will be piloting a unique release strategy that will return the inmate to the arresting jurisdiction upon release. This means that inmates will not be released into the surrounding communities,” said Tukwila Mayor Jim Haggerton.

The cities need the jail space because in 2000, King County notified all cities that it would no longer provide misdemeanor jail beds. Cities were able to extend the deadline, moving the termination date to 2012. At the same time, the cities created the Jail Advisory Group (JAG) to coordinate the use of jails and develop a plan to meet their long-term jail needs.In 2006, the cities hired the consulting firm of Ricci-Greene to conduct a study and develop long-range planning options for jail capacity. The study showed that the South King County cities would need access to 700 additional jail beds by 2026. The study also indicated that the cities would significantly reduce their costs if they joined together to build and operate a jail.

A feasibility study conducted by a separate consultant determined the costs of building and operating a joint facility and validated the recommendations from the Ricci-Greene study that working together the cities could build and operate a jail more efficiently and at a lower cost than they are currently paying others to house their inmates.

The cities have identified their preferred site, which is located in the City of Des Moines on 14 acres of vacant property currently held by the Port of Seattle. The site is located inside a fenced perimeter, southwest of the intersection of South 208th Street and what was formerly 18th Avenue South. The site is heavily wooded and impractical for other development based upon its proximity to the airport and associated aircraft noise. Trespassers have overrun the site and littered it with their garbage.

Burien Mayor Joan McGilton emphasized said that SCORE is interested in soliciting members of the public to participate in the Community Outreach Team. Interested parties should submit their letter of interest to: Penny Bartley, SCORE Community Outreach, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057

SCORE will soon be submitting the necessary documents to begin the permitting process that will involve public comment and review. The public can get further information and track the progress of SCORE on its website at http://www.SCOREjail.org.