Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello signed a directive Monday establishing a 15-member task force to help guide plans to replace the aging juvenile justice center, Remann Hall, as officials opened up the complex to a media tour.
By the end of next spring, the Juvenile Justice Task Force is expected to deliver recommendations to the county about what a new facility should look like and how to pay for it, county officials said.
The county, which owns and operates Remann Hall in Tacoma, “can no longer provide the safe, accessible and supported environment that our young people, their families and our employees deserve” because the complex is “so outdated,” Mello said, prior to a tour that demonstrated the facility’s age and correctional atmosphere.
Many of the task force’s members were present for Monday’s signing and tour. Retired Pierce County Superior Court Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck will serve as chair of the group. Other members come from judicial, educational, community, business or law enforcement backgrounds. One member is the grandparent of a child who has Remann Hall experience, according to the county…