Spokane County plans to terminate lease for Spokane Valley precinct

Spokane County is terminating a nearly two decade lease with Spokane Valley by the end of the year.

The Spokane Valley Precinct building, located at 12710 E. Sprague Ave., has been used as a district courtroom for traffic infractions, operating several times a week since 2007, according to Chief Executive Officer Scott Simmons. Spokane Valley owns the building, and the county agreed in 2007 to lease a room from the city to use as a courtroom.

The county decided to end that lease with the city this year after evaluating its budget. By ending the lease, the county will save $225,000 every year, Simmons said.

"We've talked with the Spokane Valley leadership and their council members and inquired with them on their view of it. In talking with district court, they felt like those functions could easily be absorbed back here at the county campus," Simmons said.

Court operations will now be transferred to the county public safety building, where other district courts are held. Simmons said the agreement is one that is mutually beneficial. The two municipalities have been talking about ending the lease since January, Simmons said.

"We have to look at everything because we have some pretty significant budget gaps for next year," Simmons said. "This is just one of many decisions that the board will be considering."

The County Commission approved the decision to end the lease on Tuesday during a meeting.

The city has not received official notification about the lease change, Spokane Valley spokeswoman Jill Smith said Wednesday.

"We're always looking for additional space," Spokane Valley police Chief Dave Ellis said. "We'll determine if there's something that makes sense for us to utilize the space for."

Spokane Valley could use the space, which is within the current police department, to grow its own footprint in the precinct and use for law enforcement.

"It was just opportunistic for both parties to be able to terminate; that saves the county cost of the lease, it saves us having to have security out there, because we're required to for any courtroom facilities and then the Valley is able to get that square footage back for their expanded footprint needs out at their precinct," Simmons said.

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