After months of looking over several possible options and feedback from the public, the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners finally came to a decision on what to do with the deteriorating county jail at their Nov. 15 meeting.

The future of the facility will be to build a new jail. In an unanimous vote, Commissioner Craig Gaasvig motioned to support the option of a new facility at the recommended 96,000 square feet and capacity of 242 beds. Commissioner Richard Anderson seconded the motion.

A multi-million-dollar price tag is attached to any jail option that was presented to the board after the feasibility study. The board’s decision to build a new jail on Tuesday will carry an estimated cost of just under $19 million. Through Gaasvig’s proposed motion, the funding would come from a local option sales tax, which was the favored choice in the public survey.

The question now remains for the commissioners – what comes next? While the decision to agree on building a new facility was a seemingly easy one, the question of where to put the building and the specifics will remain in the air until a later meeting.

County commissioners will discuss more details on the new facility during their Dec. 13 meeting.

By — Mary Balstad