Alfalfa County discusses switching jail commissary vendor; motions made on road contract and $334,000 fund transfer

Alfalfa County officials discussed replacing the county jail commissary contractor and made motions related to a road contract and a $334,000 transfer of ATR funds during a county meeting recorded in the provided transcript.

A staff member described differences between the county’s current commissary contractor, CTC (City Telepoint), and a prospective vendor, Benchmark. “Right now, CTC pays us 15% commission on our commissary from inmates,” the staff member said. “If we move to Benchmark, they're gonna pay us 40% commission off of the commissary.”

The staff member said switching would also allow the county to purchase inmate food at wholesale from Benchmark, which the county expects would reduce meal costs. “It cuts our cost down for inmate meals to about a dollar 20 a piece per inmate per meal,” the staff member said, and added that a state dietitian’s menu service would be included in the Benchmark arrangement.

Separately, speakers made motions on several administrative items. An unnamed speaker moved to approve a new charter account for ATL funds for Lehi (details in the agenda item were not specified in the transcript). Another motion referenced transferring ATR funds in the amount of $334,000. A further motion asked the board to approve a contract for Weber Road Solutions for work on Lake Exit Road; a speaker noted that Chairman Douglas (referred to in the meeting as “Chairman Douglas”) could sign the contract or that other board members could sign if they preferred. The transcript records the motions being made and discussed, but it does not include recorded seconders or vote tallies for those motions.

Why it matters: A change in commissary vendor could affect the county’s share of commissary revenue and the per-meal cost for inmates, which in turn affects the county jail budget and procurement arrangements. Contracts for road work and large fund transfers affect the county budget and project delivery.

Discussion and clarifications from the meeting: the staff member presented commission percentages (15% from CTC vs. 40% from Benchmark), the wholesale purchasing option, and the inclusion of a state dietitian with Benchmark’s menu planning. The $334,000 figure was stated as the ATR funds transfer amount in the discussion. The transcript does not include formal vote results or detailed contract terms such as duration, scope, or award amount for the Weber Road Solutions item.

The meeting also began with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance and included various informal exchanges among participants; those ceremonial and conversational items are not reported here except as they relate to the substantive motions and procurement discussion.