Smith sets Wapato press conference before executive session

Multnomah County commissioner schedules Monday press conference the day before the board is set to consider a new offer on the unopened jail in North Portland.

Commissioner Loretta Smith has scheduled a press conference in front of the never-used Wapato jail to renew her call to open the facility as a homeless service center and shelter on Monday morning.

The press conference is set for the day the before the Multnomah County Commission will hold an executive session on the facility after the potential buyer submitted a new offer, possibly much lower offer.

"This call has gained urgency as the Multnomah County Board edges closer to a questionable deal to sell this county facility," the press conference announcement says.

Portland developer Marty Kehoe had signed an agreement to buy the facility for $10.8 million. But, mere hours before the deadline to finalize the sale, the county issued a statement saying Kehoe had submitted a "counter-offer" that would be discussed at the April 3 executive session.

Some in the development community are speculating that Kehoe has now offered only $5 million for the facility, which sits on 18 acres of industrial land. Kehoe denied that was his new offer to the Portland Tribune, but declined to discuss the transaction any further, saying he had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Smith has long argued that Wapato should be opened to serve the homeless. It was built to house over 500 people at a time, while also offering addiction treatment services.

Commissioner Chair Deborah Kafoury has consistently opposed that idea, saying the facility is too far from social service agencies, is not served by transit, and has zoning problems.

The commission voted 4-to-1 to sell Wapato to Kehoe last November with only Smith dissenting. Kafoury extended the due diligence period an additional 45 days on Feb. 7 at Kehoe's request. At the time, Kehoe told the Portland Tribune he needed the extension to figure out the financial viable of his offer, which reportedly involves using Wapato as a medical equipment distribution center.

Kehoe's offer was solicted by the private CBRE brokerage firm. It was the highest of several bids received on the property. The county declined a request from the Portland Tribune to release the other bids, saying they are confidential real estate documents in the position of the firm.

The press conference announcement says Smith will be appearing with "with community members, business owners, neighborhood associations and concerned citizens asking that all options are considered that might ease the crisis of houseless." One community member she identified is Gray Ayer, a member of SE Allied Communities, a new group opposing the county's plan to open a homeless shelter near Southeast Foster and 60th.

The 155,400-square-foot mothballed jail has long been an albatross around the county's neck.

Voters approved a bond to fund the jail's construction in 1996. But county officials say that years later, the statewide passage of caps on property taxes meant that the county never had the funds to operate it.

Completed in 2004, it cost $58 million to build, and the county says it costs about $300,000 yearly to maintain.

An analysis by the Portland Tribune last year showed the total cost to date is more than $90 million, including interest and maintenance payments, and could exceed $105 million by the time all the bonds are finally paid off in 2030.

Smith is running for the Portland City Council seat being vacated by Dan Saltzman.

To read a previous Portland Tribune story on the issue, go to portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/390601-282234-wapato-jail-sale-on-hold-again.