Jail bond may have failed but Pocatello crisis center will still be built

The Bannock County jail bond might not have passed during this last election but that is not stopping the crisis center from being built.

The proposed bond would have set aside two million dollars to construct and equip a crisis center in Pocatello. The center would be an alternative to incarceration and would help people struggling with mental illness.

County commissioner Ken Bullock said even though the bond did not pass, they would find alternative ways to fund the center.

“We are going to proceed to try and get the funding for that, we just won’t be able to maybe build it as big as we would have liked to. We are still going to approach the legislature in January to fund us a million and a half dollars a year for three or four years to get that thing up and running. We have not turned our back on that,” said Commissioner Bullock.

He added, they will also look into federal grants as a way to fund the Pocatello crisis center.