WENATCHEE — With the end of the jail partnership looming, a frustrated Wenatchee Mayor Dennis Johnson lashed out at Chelan County Commissioner Ron Walter for missing Wednesday’s monthly partnership meeting.

“It’s irritating to me that there isn’t somebody in this seat,” Johnson said, looking squarely at the chair normally occupied by Walter. Johnson called it “irresponsible” that no one representing the Chelan County Board of Commissioners was at the meeting.

Chelan County Commissioners Doug England and Keith Goehner do not regularly attend the jail partners meetings because Walter is the commission’s representative on the jail partners board.

Walter, however, was in San Francisco, meeting with a bond underwriter over funding for the remodel of the Chelan County Regional Justice Center. Contacted by phone, he said that both of the other two Chelan County commissioners had previous commitments and could not attend the meeting either.

Walter’s absence was also felt by Douglas County Commissioner Ken Stanton, who said he wanted to talk to Walter about the status of his county’s proposed contract, which would allow the county to become bed renters at the jail.

But Johnson was the most vocal, and he said he was unclear, in particular, about two situations.

• How much carryover should the city expect from the jail budget when the partnership ends on Dec. 31? “There is about 45 days, and I’m going to expect a check,” he said. “But nobody sits down and talks to us.”

• How should the soon-to-be ex-partners fund a new Spillman computer system at the jail, which is critical for rapid accounting of inmate levels at the jail.

The mayor said using carryover funds to pay for the Spillman system might be a possibility but he needs a conversation with Walter before making any decision.

“When you dissolve a partnership, it’s a complex endeavor,” Johnson said. He said he was worried that, with only a December meeting planned right now among the jail partners, important issues would not be resolved by the end of the year. That meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 16 at Wenatchee City Hall.

Still, Johnson said, he wants to dissolve the partnership “as amicably as possible. I want a sound relationship with the jail and other officials when we are done.”

Jail Administrator Phil Stanley said he hoped to set up a meeting involving all three entities before the December meeting so issues could be resolved.

Chelan County owns the jail but the city of Wenatchee, Douglas County and Chelan County have shared capital costs and jointly managed the jail since it opened in 1984. Saying they want to save money by being bed renters and being out of the sharing of other costs, officials from Wenatchee and Douglas County are hoping to end the partnership at the end of the year.

In other business, Stanley said Apollo Sheet Metal, based in Kennewick, is the low bidder to remodel the law and justice building. Bids ranged from $5.5 million to almost $7.5 million, he said. Chelan County commissioners may award that contract Monday.

Earlier this week, county commissioners signed an intent to award the contract to Apollo.

Pat Du Lac, the county’s facilities director, said in a phone interview after the meeting that the county engineer’s estimate for the project was $7 million. The project will include a total replacement of the aging building’s mechanical system and upgrades to parts of the electrical system. Du Lac said six firms submitted bids.

“We’re very excited that it came in at this amount,” Du Lac said. “It means the county will have to borrow less money for a bond.”

Du Lac said he thinks the recession and resulting downturn in the construction industry is the reason some bids came in below the engineer’s estimate.

Stanley said construction could start as early as December and the work should take about 18 months.

The project will be funded by a 0.1 percent sales tax increase originally passed to fund the construction of the Chelan County Juvenile Center. Money that has been collecting in that criminal justice fund will be used as collateral to sell bonds to finance the project. By state law, that action does not require voter approval.

Dee Riggs: 664-7147

deeriggs@wenatcheeworld.com