Allen County Commissioners' Meeting Minutes

IOLA, KANSAS
OFFICE OF THE ALLEN COUNTY CLERK
November 16, 2004

The Allen County Board of Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30 a.m. with Chairperson Kent Thompson, Commissioner Dick Works, Commissioner Walter Regehr, Jr., and Sherrie L. Riebel, County Clerk.

Commissioners corrected and approved the minutes of the November 5 and November 9, 2004 meetings.

Ron Holman asked the commissioners about paneling on north wall of the CASA office. Commissioners approved to leave paneling as is.

Sherrie presented a proposed Commissioner district change. She proposed to change the City of Iola, Ward 2 to Commissioner District #3 and City of Iola, Ward 3 to Commissioner District #2. Currently the spread is 863 voters, the change would bring them to a difference of 299 voters. Commissioners will take under consideration.

Sherrie requested on behalf of Isabell Pliler to transport an elderly citizen on Sunday, November 21, 2004. Commissioners approved the use of the van on Sunday.

Commissioners drew names to break a tie in the General Election for Carlyle Township Treasurer and Trustee. Becky Meiwes name was drawn for the Carlyle Township Treasurer and Dale Hawk’s name was drawn for the Carlyle Township Trustee.

Bill mentioned the paint striping south of Iola is complete.

Bill King, Public Works Director, and Richard Johnson, Martin Tractor Sales Representative, presented bids for a track paver. Bids were received from Martin Tractor for a 1992 Caterpillar AP-1050 with 7150 hours at $64,500 with a $6,500 trade allowance for a total of $58,000 and Van Keppel for a 1998 Cedar Rapids CR461P with 3574 hours at $85,000 with a $12,000 trade allowance for a total of $73,000, Berry Tractor declined to bid. Discussion followed on the dependability and use of this type of machine. No action was taken at this time.

Bill requested signatures for the utility relocation permit for project # 1C-3776-01. Commissioners signed the permit.

Commissioner Regehr moved to go into executive session for 5 minutes to discuss property acquisition. Commissioner Works second, motion passed 3-0-0. Those in the room will be Commissioner Thompson, Commissioner Works, Commissioner Regehr, Sherrie L. Riebel and Bill King, Public Works Director. The time is now 9:15 a.m. Commissioners reconvened at 9:20 a.m. No action was taken.

Commissioner Works moved to go into executive session for 5 minutes to discuss non-elected personal. Commissioner Regehr second, motion passed 3-0-0. Those in the room will be Commissioner Thompson, Commissioner Works, Commissioner Regehr, Sherrie L. Riebel and Bill King, Public Works Director. The time is now 9:20 a.m. Commissioners reconvened at 9:25 a.m. No action was taken.

Bill discussed the proposed ACCC road.

Commissioners had requested exit interviews from Ramona Driskel, Todd Granere, and Shavonne Johnson, ex-correctional staff. Alan Weber, Allen County Counselor, stated the county is concerned about the security of the jail. They all admitted to walking out of the jail November 10. Discussion followed on the shift coverage, training and security. Alan stated they should go through the grievance procedure for any personnel issues. The concerns were: no training to make sure everything is running and working; that the jailers without proper training are in the pods with the inmates outside their individual cells; propped open doors (kitchen, control and man trap doors), rotation in the control room every two hours is not happening, the sally port door open with the other doors propped open (Trustees unloading groceries are free to run); staff with 3 to 5 months training are running the jail and one staff member with 5 months training is making decisions while the Sheriff is away at training; a concern for housing Johnson County inmates before the Allen County inmate problems are solved, the State Fire Marshall had inspected the jail before it was opened and there were several issues that have yet to be addressed. Ramona stated that a jailer could work in the jail without training as long as they receive training before the end of a year. Bruce Symes, Iola Register representative, asked about their resignations. Discussion followed. Ramona stated it is unsafe for the staff and inmates and now the public. Todd stated the long hours and straight working days are a concern because a person who is fighting fatigue cannot make quick accurate decisions. Discussion followed.

Robbie Atkins, Allen County Sheriff, reported that Saturday tiles started popping up in the work release area. He called D & R to check for water leakage, they tightened the top of the showerhead and that didn’t solve the water leak. They will have to jack hammer the wall to fix the leak in the wall. Robbie stated it should have an entrance panel put back to allow entrance.

Robbie stated the kitchen door has not been replaced at this time. Nothing has been reported as of this time. He stated there is a water leak in secure area in the tunnel. Discussion followed. Robbie reported the stools in the new jail are being stopped up. He explained the problem and possible solutions. Discussion followed.

Robbie stated the heat and air in the administrative offices are still not working correctly. Discussion followed. DC Refrigeration is working on this issue.

Robbie discussed an odor coming from the sally port. The drains are in the center of the sally port, they do have a trap but there is still a problem with odor.

Robbie discussed making the part time cook full time. He also requested that Sergeants get a $1.00 raise above the starting rate. No action was taken at this time.

Robbie discussed the public is not at risk from the jail. He stated the emergency issues are not controllable. Currently there are 25 inmates in the jail. The trustees are in work release area.

Alan discussed training in the jail. Robbie stated the jailers have all received training in the control room. Robbie stated six of the staff has been trained by Thermal. Robbie stated several jailers have received the 40 hours of training required by state. Discussion followed. He stated there is not a problem with a jailer going into the pods with the inmates, this is called direct supervision. He will continue to do this. He stated the control person couldn’t see all four pods at one time. Commissioners asked about them going into the pods with a master key on them. Alan asked about the doors being propped open. Robbie stated the system is slow and this is a way to speed up the process. Alan asked about the State Fire Marshall’s report on evacuations. Alan asked about riot control. Discussion followed. Robbie reported the jailers have all been trained on the evacuation issues, by way of a briefing. Alan asked if the current jailers would be able to tell him about the evacuations. Alan discussed the training concerns on the new jailers. Discussion followed. Robbie reported he had Missouri class training come to Allen County to train jailers. Discussion followed. Robbie addressed the other issues that were addressed by the previous jailers. Alan explained the Commissioners liability to make sure that all the issues presented are taken care of in a secure environment. Robbie stated most of the training is "on the job training". Robbie stated he didn’t need anyone to come from another county to make sure he is running up to pare. Commissioners asked about the Johnson County prisoners being farmed out to Allen County as of the last of November. Robbie stated this was a goal of his; he would not be bringing prisoners in if he were not up to full jail staff. Alan suggested that someone come from Neosho County to Allen County to do a walk through to make sure everything is running properly, Robbie stated he is running the jail properly and professional and does not need for the commissioners to have any one come. Discussion followed. Commissioners discussed the key situation. Discussion followed. Commissioners discussed the overtime and intense hours worked, currently 12 hours sifts. Alan suggested testing the jailers on the training issues and if the jailers miss the question they should be reviewed with the jailer. Discussion followed. Alan stated his concern with the previous jailers issues. Robbie stated they are just disgruntled employees, that there are no problems.

Commissioner Regehr discussed a barn that was burned. Robbie stated it is still under investigation.

Commissioner Works asked about keys. Discussion followed. The jail is set up on a keyless entry.

Robbie would like to appoint Shift Supervisors. The title, a pay raise, and job description was presented to the Commission. No action was taken at this time.

Robbie requested to title an individual as Jail Administrator. Alan will review the job descriptions. No action was taken at this time.

Jerry Hathaway, Allen County Assistant Attorney, scheduled an appointment for November 30 to discuss budget issues.

Bill reported calling some individuals on the paver. He discussed the simplest of running the CAT machine. He stated there was no problem with the machine he just wanted to update while it is marketable. Discussion followed. Commissioner Works moved to purchase from Martin Tractor for a 1992 Caterpillar AP-1050 with 7150 hours at $64,500 with a $6,500 trade allowance for a total of $58,000. Commissioner Regehr seconded, motion passed 3-0-0.

Bill requested to get bids on a vehicle. Commissioners approved.

Commissioners will not be meeting November 23, 2004.

Commissioners approved the following documents:

a) Clerk's vouchers totaling $ 46,015.48

b) Payroll Changes

c) Payroll Vouchers

d) Abatements – RE Value 1714, $229.36, Year 2004

e) Abatements – PP Value 775, $134.66, Year 2004

f) Abatements – 16/20M Trucks Value 3915, $427.50, Year 2004

 

With no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned until November 30, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. in the Commission room of the courthouse.

Please remember, minutes are unofficial until approved by the commissioners' at their next meeting.