Polk County approves emergency jail boiler replacement and purchases radios for law enforcement and emergency services

Polk County Commissioner’s Court on Jan. 28 approved an emergency replacement of the Polk County Jail hot‑water boiler system and authorized a multi‑agency radio purchase, with the court agreeing to fund the costs from the general fund and later restore internal budgets using surplus depository interest.

The court’s action covered two linked items: vendor McWilliams & Sons recommended replacing a failed large hot‑water tank and the islanded boiler layout by installing 14 smaller boilers to provide redundancy and easier maintenance. The county had earlier approved $74,900 for two large boilers; the change increases the hot‑water replacement cost by $152,475. The court kept the previously authorized HVAC boiler order and approved the additional funding to proceed with the 14‑boiler option as an emergency purchase.

Why it matters: Polk County’s jail policy requires evacuation if heating is insufficient for 24 hours or hot water for 72 hours. County staff reported visible corrosion and an active leak on the hot‑water tank; the replacement was characterized as necessary to avoid inmate relocation and operational disruption.

County staff also presented radio procurement proposals to replace Motorola equipment and standardize on L3Harris radios. Proposals included: emergency management — eight portables and two mobiles ($48,984.84); sheriff’s office — 55 mobile radios ($334,005.54) plus three additional portables ($14,492.10); constables — 15 mobile radios (~$333,000) and 12 portables ($57,968.40); volunteer fire departments — 10 portables ($44,423.84). All radios quoted included an option to extend warranty coverage (three‑year extension beyond a two‑year base warranty). The packet described an available budget line of $415,923.38 for radios and said individually requested purchases could alternatively be charged to commissioners’ budgets where appropriate.

The court approved moving forward with the boiler replacement and the radio procurement in the same funding plan: using available maintenance capital outlay funds now and covering the remainder from the general fund, with the intent to replenish the internal line items later from depository interest surpluses if that revenue stream continues at current levels.

Clarifying details and limitations from the meeting: the 14‑boiler system was presented as an on‑hand solution to avoid waiting for a custom large tank; the smaller units are outdoor‑rated and allow single‑unit replacement if one fails, increasing redundancy. The previously approved $74,900 order for the HVAC boiler (outside unit) remained in place. The county described the depository interest balance at the time as approximately $2,225,272 and said the adopted budget anticipated about $350,000 in that line for the year; staff said they would return later with a formal budget amendment to reimburse the maintenance line items.

Outcome: The court approved the emergency boiler replacement option and the radio purchases and agreed to fund them temporarily from the general fund pending a later budget amendment to reimburse the maintenance capital outlay from depository interest surpluses.