Kirkland will house Woodinville inmates

Woodinville approved the contract in September.

If things continue as expected, Woodinville inmates will soon be housed in the Kirkland Jail after an ongoing remodel is completed.

The Woodinville City Council approved the agreement last month, which calls for a $50,000 one-time payment, according to the Sept. 17 agenda. This money will be used to offset costs of modifications to the Kirkland Jail, allowing for more beds and cells. The city of Woodinville will pay the city of Kirkland $127 per day, per inmate during the initial term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2021.

Woodinville also holds contracts for jail services at the King County Jail, which acts as the city’s primary jail facility — housing about 97.5 percent of inmates held before and after deposition. Issaquah also houses about 2.5 percent of Woodinville inmates.

With the signing of the interlock agreement, Kirkland will serve as Woodinville’s primary booking and jailing facility, Woodinville city documents state. The Woodinville contract with King County will be retained to house inmates not accepted by the Kirkland facility.

Only male defendants will be booked and housed at the Kirkland Jail, a Woodinville staff report states. Female defendants from Woodinville will still be booked and housed at the King County Jail. And by law, inmates arrested on misdemeanor charges may be held up to 365 days per charge.

Woodinville will be guaranteed one jail facility bed and if Kirkland’s jail were to reach capacity, the city may refuse to accept Woodinville’s inmates outside the guaranteed spot.

But the contract will not go into effect until it is signed, after Kirkland’s jail remodel is complete, said Kellie Stickney, Kirkland communications program manager.

For six months the cities of Woodinville and Kirkland have been discussing the interlock agreement for jail services. Stickney said the long duration of negotiations was due to there being no pressing time limit and an ongoing expansion.