10-01-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--October 1, 2004 2802 10. ORDINANCE DRAFT, State's Attorney to pursue overweiÇlht vehicle enforcement Birch Burdick, State's Attorney, was asked to draft a proposed ordinance with respect to overweight vehicles on county highways. Commissioners were in agreement that he should pursue making a formal request of the presiding judge of District Court to determine if they would enforce such an ordinance. Mr. Burdick would then meet with a committee, which the board appointed on September 7, 2004, to begin discussing a draft ordinance. 11. JAIL INMATES, Sheriff requests restroom in courthouse basement holdinÇl area Glenn Ellingsberg, Chief Deputy/Jail Administrator, was present regarding a letter from Sheriff Don Rudnick dated September 17, 2004 requesting the installation of a restroom in the prisoner holding area in the courthouse basement. Sheriff Rudnick arrived later. Mr. Ellingsberg said the restroom is necessary because the inmate holding area was approved as a temporary measure until a west addition could be constructed for the courts where the old jail was located. Since that process is taking longer than expected, he is suggesting the basement restroom to eliminate inmates planning to make contact with a member of the public when using a restroom near the courts. The Sheriff's letter includes a bid estimate from Grant's Mechanical for an amount not to exceed $7,256 for a unisex restroom with porcelain fixtures and standard hardware. A subsequent proposal was received through the county maintenance department, according to Mr. Ellingsberg. Mr. Meyer said this topic never came up during budget sessions this fall, and he wondered if funds for the project are contained in the jailor sheriff's budget. Mr. Ellingsberg did not believe funds were available in the sheriff's budget; however, he suggested using the new building fund since this is an outreach of that project. He said he will work with the auditor to see if funds are available this year. Also, Mr. Meyer is concerned about inmate damage because of the history of vandalism of toilets in the old and the new jail. He asked Mr. Ellingsberg to instruct corrections officers to inspect the restroom daily for security issues and have inmates clean the restroom daily as a possible deterrent to vandalism. Mr. Ellingsberg said his staff has the ability to identify an inmate should they cause damage to the property because they are closely supervised at all times. He said staff will be required to inspect the restroom after each use to be sure nothing is left in there, and inmates or staff will clean the restroom daily. Inmate workers from the jail could be brought over periodically to clean it more thoroughly, he said. Mr. Vanyo referred to commission minutes of April 7, 2003 when the sheriff requested moving the prisoner holding area to the basement. Mr. Vanyo requested clarification of the cost difference since the restroom at that time was estimated at $2,000. Mr. Ellingsberg said that estimate was only for the fixtures because they thought the plumbing connections were available since the area was previously used as a break room and cafeteria. However, they learned additional piping is needed to install a restroom there. Of the two cost estimates received this time, Mr. Wagner encouraged quality of construction and materials. He was also concerned about the potential for an inmate to intentionally plug a toilet and cause flooding, which could damage telephone lines and equipment located in