Jail management decision delayed

By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com

July 01, 2008 10:57 am

— A full agenda coupled with a lack of air conditioning in the Johnson County Courthouse Monday prompted County Judge Roger Harmon to ask commissioners to delay action on the future management of the Johnson County Corrections Center until today. Commissioners agreed to reconvene court at 8:30 a.m.
Hiring an outside firm to manage the jail would save the county a considerable amount of money, Sheriff Bob Alford told commissioners recently.
Calling the matter “possibly the largest decision this court has made in some time,” Harmon said he wanted to make sure commissioners had sufficient time to address the issue.
Commissioners voted to apply for a grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would help fund a new dispatch center building for the county. The FEMA grant awards up to $1 million and requires a 25 percent match from the county. Should the county receive the grant, commissioners will decide on building specifications and location at that time, said Commissioner John Matthews.
Commissioners also agreed to enter into talks with Somervell, Hood, Bosque and Ellis counties about a mobile, 40 bed hospital, which would be available to the participating counties in times of disaster, commissioners said. Tarrant, Dallas and Collin counties already have such a program in place.
Commissioners authorized Margaret Cook, purchasing department supervisor, to advertise a second auction on two county properties that did not sell the first time around. The first is a building at 1601 N. Anglin St., which previously housed the state health office and Meals-on-Wheels offices. Both have since moved to other locations. The county originally listed the building with a minimum bid of $26,000, the building’s appraised value. There will be no minimum bid on the new auction.
Also to be auctioned once more is a strip of property, about six acres, near the Retreat near Farm-to-Market Road 1434. The minimum bid is $3,000 per acre.
In other news, the commissioners:
zx Voted to accept donations from Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and Quicksilver Resources. The donations will fund road repairs in Precincts 1 and 4.
zx Appointed Personnel Director Tom Owens as the county’s Americans With Disabilities Act coordinator. Dr. Arthur Raines, who previously handled such duties, retired Monday.

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