Be prepared to welcome "a new neighbor" to Redmond. According to the Seattle Times, King County plans to terminate their city jail contracts in four years because the Seattle jail can't keep up with demand. They're looking for a second site. The proposed Kingsgate site is currently the favored location for the new jail and is less than three miles from Redmond.
The map, below, shows the proposed Kingsgate jail site at the epicenter, with traces of criminal effluence leaking to Redmond, Kirkland, and Woodinville neighborhoods and schools by 2010. Redmond is located in the lower right quadrant of this map. No doubt real estate agents and parents of school children are holding their breadth the jail will find a more distant location in 2010. Any thoughts?
A Public Meeting will be held December 10, 6:00 - 9:00 at the Hollywood Schoohouse.According to KirklandViews Blog, Kirkland Councilman Bob Sternoff estimates the size of the proposed jail is 640 beds and should accommodate the jail needs for the next twenty years.
The North/East Cities Municipal Jail Planning’s Site Comparison Chart rates the Kingsgate site at 161 points — the highest rating of the 5 sites listed to be undergoing environmental review. The chart lists five potential jail sites on the Eastside — two in Kirkland and one in Kirkland’s posposed annexation. View the Kirkland Jail Inmate Profile .
The Seattle Times, lists four potential locations for the jail as:
KINGSGATE: Unincorporated King Cty between Kirkland & Redmond, 13225 N.E. 126th Pl.
Bellevue: 555 116th Ave. N.E.
Shoreline: 2545 N.E. 200th St.
Downtown Seattle: a new King County Jail Annex, southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Jefferson Street.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Cities will provide more information and seek feedback from the public on jail sites at several meetings in December. Each meeting will focus on a specific site. For more information on the sites, go to http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/.
>>Unincorporated King County Kingsgate site, Dec. 10: 6 to 9 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at The Hollywood Schoolhouse, 14810 N.E. 145th St., Woodinville.
>>Bellevue site, Dec. 15: 6 to 9 p.m. in Rooms 404 and 405 on Level 4 of The Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue.
The map-diagram is courtesy of http://KirklandViews.com
What are you afraid of Bob? Do you think the jail will have a lot of escapes and be a threat to your safety? Do you think that visitors will be so eager to be with their friends and relatives that they will be committing crimes in the neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteMy personal beliefs about incarcerating people for victimless crimes aside, there is still a need and it has to go somewhere.
It's all about awareness for me. Others may feel different but they haven't chimed in, yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of @ 6 locations that's being considered. That part of Kingsgate is not a bad choice. Let's see how the public process unfolds.
ReplyDeleteAs I look further into this it becomes evident that locating a 650 bed jail in Kingsgate is not only an unreasonable proposition it is profoundly unfair. This jail will primarily be used to house the misdemeanant population of the city of Seattle...450 beds for Seattle. Why should the tiny community of Kingsgate be forced to take on the responsibility for the housing of thousands of misdeamants arrested in THE CITY OF SEATTLE and either promptly or eventually realeased in our community and the surrounding communities of Kirkland, Redmond Woodenville. At the very least...WHAT HAPPENS IN SEATTLE SHOULD STAY IN SEATTLE. Kingsgate is part of unincorporated King ccounty without a city council and evidently without much involvement by our King County elected representatives. We all ned to be at that meeting.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteA follow-up article has been posted on KirklandViews.com which has a video explaining the profile of the inmates in our jails.
I thought your readers would like to know. It can be viewed at Kirkland Jail Inmate Profile
Keep up the great work,
Rob