County staff say jail grant agreement is pending; maintenance hire recommendation expected next week

County staff told Morrow County commissioners that a pending grant agreement for jail work is expected in the coming weeks and that the county will seek reimbursement for some already incurred costs once the agreement is completed. Staff also said they are close to recommending a hire for an open maintenance technician position.

The update came during the meeting’s staff reports. A county staff member said the Bureau of Detention Rehabilitation Corrections Board contacted the county with an update on grants; staff said the formal grant agreement has not yet been delivered but is expected "here in a couple weeks," and that the county has already started some work on the project and will submit reimbursement requests after the agreement is finalized.

Mark, a county staff member who spoke about facilities and hiring, said the county recently interviewed at least one qualified applicant for a maintenance technician I position and hoped to have one or two additional candidates by the end of the week. "Kyle Wert, our new supervisor of maintenance, and I will make a recommendation to you guys hopefully by Monday of next week to fill that position," Mark said. The county did not announce the recommended hire at the meeting.

Staff also said they expect to receive the final grant agreement from the corrections board in the coming weeks; no dollar amounts, grant name or grant term were provided during the update. Commissioners thanked staff for the updates and there was no formal vote attached to these status reports.