Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSH19-035 Whatcom County 2020-2021 AgreementWhatcom County Contract No. INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON AND KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON, FOR THE HOUSING OF INMATES FOR 2020-2021 THIS INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT is made and entered into on this _ day of , 2019 by and between Kittitas County, Washington, a Washington municipal corporation, hereinafter referred to as "Kittitas County", "The County" or "KCCC" on behalf of Kittitas County Corrections Center, and Whatcom County, Washington, also a Washington Municipal Corporation, hereinafter referred to as "Whatcom County", each party having been duly organized and now existing under the laws of the State of Washington. Both entities may be referred to in this Agreement collectively as "Parties" or individually as "Party". WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, Kittitas County owns and operates the Kittitas County Corrections Center (KCCC), located in Ellensburg, Washington; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County, whose law enforcement officers arrest persons for misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors or felonies, which may result in jailing of the person arrested; and WHEREAS, Whatcom County seeks to contract for jail facilities and services from KCCC for confinement of Whatcom County prisoners; and WHEREAS, KCCC has expressed a willingness to provide jail facilities and services to Whatcom County; and WHEREAS, the Interlocal Cooperation Act (Chapter 39.34 RCW) and the "City and County Jails Act" (Chapter 70.48 RCW), authorizes contracts for jail services made between two counties; and WHEREAS , the governing bodies of each of the parties hereto have determined to enter into this Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for the Housing of Inmates by action taken at a regular meeting; and NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above and foregoing recitals, the payments to be made, the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, and for other good and valuable consideration, the parties hereto agree as follows: Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 1 of 13 I. Governing Law The parties hereto agree that, except where expressly otherwise provided, the laws and administrative rules and regulations of the State of Washington shall govern in any matter relating to an inmate(s) confined pursuant to this Agreement. II. Term This agreement shall be effective January 1, 2020 and shall extend for a period of two years until midnight, December 31, 2021, subject to earlier termination as provided herein. III. Notice All notices, reports, and correspondence to the respective parties of this Agreement shall be sent to the following: To Whatcom County: Primary Contact: Secondary Contact: To the County of Kittitas: Primary Contact: Secondary Contact IV. Definitions Whatcom County Sheriff's Office 311 Grand Ave. Bellingham WA, 98225 Wendy Jones, Chief Corrections Deputy Lt. Ernie Stach Phone: 360-778-6500 Kittitas County Corrections Center 205 W 5th Ave, Ste 1 Ellensburg WA 98926 Commander Steve Panattoni Lt. Edward Buntin Phone: 509-962-7527 The Parties hereby agree that the following terms shall have the specified meanings unless indicated otherwise herein: A. Day. A twenty-four hour-long unit of time commencing at 00:00:01 a.m., and ending at 23:59:59 p.m. B. Inmate Classifications. Shall be pursuant to the Kittitas County Corrections Center Objective Jail Inmate Classification which is modeled after the National Institute of Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 2 of 13 Corrections Jail Classification. i) "Minimum" classification shall apply to those inmates who present a low risk to staff and the community. ii) "Medium" classification shall apply to those inmates who present a moderate risk to staff and the community. iii) "Maximum" classification shall apply to those inmates who present a substantial risk to staff and the community. C. Whatcom Prisoner (or may also be referred to as offender in this Agreement) means a person arrested by a Law Enforcement Officer of Whatcom County or another law enforcement agency located within Whatcom County, either on behalf of Whatcom County or on behalf of municipalities within Whatcom County and booked into the Kittitas County Corrections Center (KCCC) at any time and for any reason, including after sentencing. It is anticipated that prisoners confined at KCCC will be those sentenced to terms of incarceration in jail for periods of three hundred sixty-five days (365) or less, but may also be, as deemed appropriate, be prisoners not yet convicted under the same terms and conditions as those serving sentences. Transportation of all prisoners confined at KCCC pursuant to this ILA shall be the responsibility of Whatcom County, including all costs. D. Access of legal counsel to such prisoners shall be pursuant to the policies and schedule of KCCC, and no cost of such counsel shall be the responsibility of the KCCC. Kittitas County is in the process of implementing video conferencing for court proceedings and attorney access, and upon implementation thereof, Whatcom County will be allowed to make use of this technology and process at its own expense. E. Any bond to be posted for Whatcom Prisoners shall be posted in accordance with the orders of the court setting the pre-trial conditions, and all such prisoners shall be transported to Whatcom County by and at the expense of Whatcom County, except that KCCC and Whatcom County may come to agreement for alternative transport options, paid for by Whatcom County, including but not limited to the purchase of a bus ticket from Ellensburg to Bellingham, the cost of which would be reimbursed to KCCC. V. Criteria for Determining Prisoner Status For the purposes of this agreement: A. Whatcom Prisoners being booked into the Kittitas County Corrections Center shall remain the responsibility of the Whatcom County Transport Deputies and shall not be deemed an inmate of that facility until the Whatcom County Prisoner is accepted by Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 3 of 13 KCCC Corrections staff at the time of booking. Only Transport Deputies authorized by Whatcom County may present a prisoner for confinement in KCCC pursuant to this ILA unless previously arranged and approved in writing by the Jail Commander or his/her designee or superior. Any prisoner transported by Whatcom County to the KCCC with documentation showing that the prisoner is being held pursuant to an order entered by any court in Whatcom County will be presumed to be acceptable for confinement except as otherwise provided herein. B. If a Whatcom County Offender behaves in such a manner that disciplinary action is needed to correct the behavior, the Whatcom County offender will be subjected to the same disciplinary process utilized by the County for the KCCC offenders. If a sanction applied results in loss of good time, KCCC will notify the Whatcom County contact. If the offender behavior is to the level that KCCC determines they are no longer appropriate for KCCC, notice will be made to Whatcom County and the offender removed from KCCC via either the regularly scheduled transport or as can be reasonably arranged by Whatcom County through special transport. VI. Jail and Medical Services A. Inmates deemed Whatcom Prisoners for medical purposes shall mean any person incarcerated pursuant to this ILA. These prisoners shall receive such medical, psychiatric and dental treatment when emergent and necessary to safeguard their health while housed in the Kittitas County Corrections Center in the same manner and to the same extent as any other prisoner. KCCC will provide or arrange for providing of such medical, psychiatric and dental services. Except for routine minor medical services provided by the County within the Kittitas County Corrections Center, Whatcom County shall ultimately be responsible and pay directly or reimburse the KCCC for any and all costs associated with the delivery of any emergency or necessary medical service provided to Whatcom Prisoners. Whatcom County shall be responsible for any and all emergent or necessary medical, dental and psychiatric treatment provided outside of the Kittitas County Corrections Center and shall be billed thereafter. B. If the County becomes aware that a Whatcom Prisoner is in need of medical health care requiring the assistance of a medical health care services provider outside of the Kittitas County Corrections Center, then the County shall make reasonable effort to notify Whatcom County prior to obtaining said service. In the case of emergency, the County may notify Whatcom County after the service has been provided. Due to the realities of transporting prisoners between Whatcom County and the KCCC, it is anticipated that other than routine medical appointments scheduled in advance, KCCC shall perform such transport and other obligations needed to address the health needs of Whatcom Prisoners in the same manner as any other inmate of KCCC. Whatcom County shall be responsible for the cost of all transport and other arrangements. To the extent possible, the parties agree that Whatcom County will not seek to place its prisoners in KCCC if significant medical care is reasonably Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 4 of 13 anticipated. C. An adequate record of all such services shall be kept by the County for Whatcom County's review at its request, to the extent consistent with confidentiality regulations. Any medical or dental services of major consequence shall be reported to Whatcom County as soon as time permits. If the offender is transferred back to Whatcom County, a discharge summary containing information concerning health care provided at KCCC shall accompany the offender via the Transport team. D. Should medical, psychiatric or dental services require hospitalization, Whatcom County agrees to compensate KCCC dollar for dollar any amount expended or cost incurred in providing the same. E. Upon payment to KCCC by Whatcom County for a Whatcom Prisoner's health care expense, the County will assign to Whatcom County, if requested by Whatcom County, any and all right to reimbursement for medical expenses authorized under RCW 70.48.130. F. Whatcom County agrees to pay directly or reimburse the County for any and all medical expenses, as defined in Section VI.A, incurred for Whatcom Prisoners which are not performed by medical staff on contract with the County within the Kittitas County Corrections Center, or paid by the Department of Social and Health Services, including medical, psychiatric, and dental bills as well as prescription medication expenses. VII. Transportation Kittitas County shall be responsible for the transportation of all prisoners from the Corrections Center to local medical services and back. Whatcom County shall pay the actual costs for Kittitas County personnel required to appropriately and safely transport and maintain custody of prisoners during medical treatment, including overtime as needed to maintain staffing for operations. Kittitas County will contact Whatcom County with regard to any pre -planned major medical treatment to allow Whatcom County to consider the option of using its own personnel for transport and security, including provision of female personnel for medical matters specific to women. Whatcom County shall be responsible for transporting all inmates to and from custody between Whatcom County and KCCC. KCCC shall provide Whatcom County adequate and sufficient notice of a Whatcom County offender release date from KCCC so that Whatcom County can arrange transport on the scheduled transport back to Whatcom County, to prevent an inmate from being held beyond their release date. All inmates shall be picked up and transported to Whatcom county not less than 24 hours from discharge, with the exceptions noted under Section IV (E) for offenders released once bond had been posted. Whatcom County shall provide all documentation related to the booking of inmates, including court orders and the date and time at which custody commenced and is to end. Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 5of13 VIII. Compensation A. Kittitas County agrees to accept and house Whatcom Prisoners for compensation per prisoner at the rate of $66.50 per day for the year 2020 and $66.50 per day for the year 2021 (also see Section VI herein) except as provided below. This rate includes minimum, medium and maximum classification inmates. The parties agree that the County will not charge Whatcom County a separate booking fee in addition to such rate. B. The rate of compensation for any inmate requiring additional or specialized conditions of incarceration to the extent that they must be placed alone in a single cell designed for double occupancy shall be $133.00 per day. KCCC will promptly notify Whatcom County if an offender is placed alone in such a cell, unless that housing is incidental to moving the offender or for short term disciplinary separation. C. The date of booking into, and the date of release from, the Kittitas County Corrections Center of the Whatcom Prisoners, no matter how little time of a twenty- four hour day it constitutes, shall count as one day for billing purposes and shall be billed to Whatcom County as a day of custody in Kittitas County. IX. Billing and Billing Dispute Resolution Procedures A. The County shall transmit billings to the designated contact for Whatcom County on the following dates: April 15th, July 15th, October 15th, and January 15th. Within forty-five (45) days after receipt, Whatcom County shall pay the full amount billed or withhold any portion thereof related to disputed medical costs and provide the County written notice specifying the amount withheld and the grounds for withholding such amount, together with payment of the remainder of the amount billed. B. The designated person for billing is: Laurie Reid, Jail Administrative Coordinator Whatcom County Sheriff's Office Public Safety Building 311 Grand Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360-778-6506 LReid@co.whatcom.wa.us C. Interest on unpaid balances not paid within 45 days of billing shall be computed at 1% of the unpaid balance per month, provided that an exception may be made by KCCC in the event of an unforeseen event beyond the control of the parties. In this event, Whatcom County will notify KCCC as soon as it possible of the situation. Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 6 of 13 D. Withholding of any amount billed shall constitute a dispute to be resolved as follows: i) The Sheriffs and Prosecuting Attorneys of Kittitas and Whatcom Counties or their designees shall attempt to resolve the dispute by negotiation. Negotiation meetings may be conducted once per quarter, meeting in the months of January, April, July, and October if requested. If negotiations are unsuccessful, the dispute shall be referred to the Chairs of the Kittitas and Whatcom County legislative bodies for settlement. If not resolved by them within thirty (30) days of referral, the Whatcom County Executive and Chair of the Board of County Commissioners may, by mutual written consent, apply to the Kittitas County Superior Court for appointment of an arbitrator whose decision shall be final and binding on both parties. Each party shall pay their own costs, expenses and fees for arbitration or litigation. If mutual written consent to apply for the appointment of an arbitrator is not reached, either party may seek court action to decide the disputed contract provision. ii) Any amount withheld from a billing, plus interest thereon as set forth in Sec IX (B) determined owed to Kittitas County pursuant to the billing dispute resolution procedure described above shall be paid by Whatcom County within thirty (30) days of the negotiated resolution, arbitrator's decision or court finding. E. Each party may examine the other's books and records to verify charges. If an examination reveals an improper charge, the amount shall be applied to the next quarter and subsequent quarter's payments until the credit has been exhausted. Any unused credit, which exists at the termination of this agreement, shall be refunded within thirty (30) days of the date of termination. F. Billing Statements. The County shall provide a billing statement each quarter in accordance with section IX (A). G. Unpaid balances over 60 days in arrears may result in cancellation of access to the Corrections Center for booking of Whatcom prisoners. H. Upon cancellation or expiration of this agreement, all Whatcom Prisoners shall be taken into Whatcom County's custody on or before the effective date. X. Termination A. Termination for Material Breach. In the event either party believes the other party has materially breached any obligations under this agreement, such party shall so notify the breaching party in writing, stating the basis upon which breach is claimed and the specific provisions of this agreement claimed to have been violated. The breaching party shall have thirty (30) days from the receipt of such notice to cure the alleged Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 7of13 breach and to notify the non -breaching party in writing that cure has been effected. If the breach is not cured within the thirty (30) days, the non -breaching party shall have the right to terminate this agreement by providing ninety (90) days prior written notice to the other party and to Washington State Office of Financial Management, as provided in RCW 70.48.090. The ninety -day notice shall state the grounds for termination and the specific plan for accommodating the affected jail population. B. Termination by Mutual Agreement. This Agreement may be terminated by written notice from either party to the other party and to Washington State Office of Financial Management, as provided in RCW 70.48.090, stating the grounds for said termination and specifying plans for accommodating the affected inmates. The notice must be delivered by regular mail to the contact persons identified in Section IV herein. Termination shall become effective ninety (90) working days after receipt of such notice. C. Removal of Inmates Following Notice of Termination. Within the ninety (90) day notice period set forth in subsection A or B above, or within such other period of time as may be agreed upon in writing by the parties, Whatcom County agrees to remove its inmate(s) from Kittitas County Corrections Center. In the event of termination of this agreement, Whatcom County shall compensate the County for prisoners housed by KCCC after notice of such termination until Whatcom County retakes its inmates in the same manner and at the same rates as if this agreement had not been terminated. XI. Responsibility for Offender's Custody It shall be the responsibility of the County to confine the inmate or inmates; to provide treatment, including the furnishing of subsistence and all necessary medical and hospital services and supplies; to provide for the prisoners' physical needs; to make available to them programs and/or treatment consistent with the individual needs; to retain them in said custody; to supervise them; to maintain proper discipline and control; to make certain that they receive no special privileges and that the sentence and orders of the committing court in the State are faithfully executed; provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to require the County, or any of its agents, to provide service, treatment, facilities or programs for any inmates confined pursuant to this Agreement, which it does not provide for similar inmates not confined pursuant to this Agreement. Nothing herein shall be construed as to require the County to provide services, treatment, facilities or programs to Whatcom Prisoners above, beyond or in addition to that which is required by applicable law. XII. Right of Refusal The County shall have the right to refuse to accept any prisoner from Whatcom County who, in the judgment of the County, has a current health condition which may Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 8 of 13 adversely affect the safety of the individual or the safe operations of the Kittitas County Corrections Center or will cause the reasonable operational capacity limits of KCCC to be reached or exceeded. KCCC does not have the capability to house and care for inmates with serious medical or mental health diagnoses. Such inmates are not eligible to be incarcerated in KCCC. To ensure that such inmates are not presented to KCCC, all relevant records or other information of whatever nature in the possession of or known to Whatcom County shall be provided to KCCC in advance. That information may be exchanged via phone call. KCCC shall secure such records in a manner consistent with applicable State and Federal law and destroy them promptly upon the decision to not accept such an inmate. XIII. Indemnification A. Kittitas County shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Whatcom County, its agents, employees and officers from any and all liability arising out of the performance of this agreement, whether by act or omission of Kittitas County, its agents, employees or officers. Such liability shall include but not be limited to, intentional acts, negligence, and violations of prisoner's constitutional rights. B. Whatcom County shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Kittitas County, its agents, employees and officers from any and all liability arising out of the performance of this agreement, whether by act or omission of Whatcom County, its agents, employees, or officers. Such liability shall include, but is not limited to, false arrest and false imprisonment. C. The Parties' obligations to indemnify, defend and hold harmless shall not extend to injuries, sickness, death or damage caused by or resulting from the sole willful misconduct or negligence of the other Party, it agents, officers, employees or sub - consultants. D. The Parties' obligations to indemnify, defend and hold harmless for injuries, sickness, death or damage caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence or willful misconduct of the Parties or of the Parties and a third party other than an officer, agent or employee of the Parties, shall apply only to the extent of the negligence or willful misconduct of each Party. E. The parties agree to cooperate in defense of any and all claims made, of whatever nature, to the extent possible. XIV. Entire Contract Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 9 of 13 This agreement represents the entire understanding of the parties and supersedes any oral representations that are inconsistent with or modify its terms and conditions. XV. Modification This agreement may be modified and amended only in writing and signed by the parties hereto. XVI. Independent Contractor In providing services under this Interlocal Agreement, Kittitas County is an independent contractor and neither it nor its officers, agents or employees are employees of Whatcom County for any purpose, including but not limited to, responsibility for any federal or state tax, industrial insurance or Social Security liability. Neither shall the provision of services under this Interlocal Agreement give rise to any claim of career service or civil service rights, which may accrue to an employee of Whatcom County under any applicable law, rule or regulation. XVII. General Provisions: A. Purpose. The purpose of this Interlocal Agreement is to permit the joint use of the Kittitas County Corrections Center for confinement of prisoners of the parties to the Interlocal Agreement, thereby promoting maximum use and efficiency of the Kittitas County Corrections Center. B. Administrator. Pursuant to RCW 39.34.030(4)(a), the administrator for this agreement shall be the Undersheriff of the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office. C. Property. Unless otherwise specifically agreed by the parties in writing, all property, personal and real, utilized by the parties hereto in the execution of this Agreement shall remain the property of that party initially owning it. D. Venue. Venue for any lawsuit shall be determined pursuant to RCW 36.01.050. E. Filing. This Agreement shall be filed with the Kittitas County Auditor's Office or, alternatively, listed by subject on each or either party's web site or other electronically retrievable public source pursuant to RCW 39.34.040. F. Severability. In the event any provisions of this Agreement shall be determined to be unenforceable or otherwise invalid for any reason, such provisions shall be enforced and valid to the extent permitted by law. All provisions of this Agreement are severable and the unenforceability or invalidity of a single provision herein shall not affect the remaining provisions. Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 10 of 13 G. Waiver of Breach. The waiver by either party of the breach of any provision of this Agreement by the other party must be in writing and shall not operate nor be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach by such other party. H. Savings Clause. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed so as to require the commission of any act contrary to law, and wherever there is any conflict between any provisions of this Agreement and any statute, law, public regulation or ordinance, the latter shall prevail, but in such event, the provisions of this Agreement affected shall be curtailed and limited only the extent necessary to bring it within legal requirements. I. Interpretation. This Agreement has been submitted to the scrutiny of all parties and their counsel, if desired, and it shall be given a fair and reasonable interpretation in accordance with its words, without consideration or weight given to its being drafted by any party or its counsel. All words used in the singular shall include the plural; the present tense shall include the future tense; and the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter gender. J. Access to Records. The parties hereby agree that authorized representatives of the parties shall have access to any books, documents, paper and record of the other party which are pertinent to this Agreement for the purposes of making audits, examinations, excerpts and transcriptions. All such records and all other records pertinent to this Agreement and work undertaken pursuant to this Agreement shall be retained by the parties for a period of six years after the final expiration date of this Agreement or any amendments hereto, unless a longer period is required to resolve audit, findings or litigation. In such cases, the parties may expressly agree by an amendment or separate agreement for such longer period for record retention. [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 11 of 13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the above and foregoing Interlocal Agreement has been executed in duplicate by the parties hereto and made effective on the day and year first above written: WHATCOM COUNTY: Recommended for Approval: Bill Elfo, Sheriff Date Approved as to form: Prosecuting Attorney Date Approved: Accepted for Whatcom County: By: Jack Louws, Whatcom County Executive STATE OF WASHINGTON ) ) ss COUNTY OF WHATCOM ) On this day of , 20 _, before me personally appeared Jack Louws, to me known to be the Executive of Whatcom County, who executed the above instrument and who acknowledged to me the act of signing and sealing thereof. NOTARY PUBLIC in and for the State of Washington, residing at expires My commission Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 12 of 13 COUNTY OF KITTITAS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISIONERS Chairman Vice -Chairman Commissioner COUNTY OF KITTITAS SHERIFF'S OFFICE &4tte ?!' n Clayton Myers, Sheriff ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Douglas R. Mitchell, Deputy, ❑ Clerk of the Board- Julie Kjorsvik ❑ Deputy Clerk of the Board- Mandy Buchholz 1/(1/. secuting Attorney Interlocal Agreement for the Housing of Inmates Whatcom County and Kittitas County Page 13 of 13