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Sheriff pitches expanded jail programming, radio upgrades and a permit system for technical canyons; SRO request put on next agenda
Summary
The sheriff outlined plans to expand in-jail residential programming, upgrade paging and radio systems, and proposed a permitting process for technical slot canyons to reduce risky rescues. Commissioners agreed to place a school resource officer funding request on a future agenda.
The county sheriff updated commissioners on multiple public-safety priorities at the March meeting, including plans to expand in-custody programming, replace paging and radio infrastructure, and pursue a permitting approach for technical canyons after several difficult rescues.
On in-custody programming, the sheriff said bringing a residential program into the county facility would cost "somewhere between 90 and a hundred thousand dollars" to start but that program revenue would cover operations: "We will make, on the addition, a hundred and 24,000. So it will cover itself there. We'll be able to keep the inmates for 9 months as opposed to 6." He added that the county had worked on contracts with the BLM and expected a multi-year funding arrangement for related services.
The sheriff described problems with the county’s existing paging and radio systems and said the county was moving to a hybrid system that would use cellular-based paging as redundancy. "This new paging system...it should help with some of the issues we're having," he said, adding that new radio repeaters and tower projects are planned for improved coverage.
On search and rescue, the sheriff told commissioners about a recent technical canyon rescue and proposed a permitting process that would require visitors to acknowledge technical risks and possibly demonstrate capability. "I think we need to adopt something like that...not necessarily like the wave, but several of those canyons are actually technical," he said. Commissioners signaled support for a safety-focused permit approach to reduce rescues of unprepared visitors.
The sheriff also asked for county support for a school resource officer (SRO) or the guardian program; he said the cost of a fully equipped officer this year would be roughly $150,000, and the school district had declined to share the cost. Commissioners agreed to place the specific SRO funding request on the agenda for the next meeting to consider opening the budget and a potential appropriation.
No final county appropriation for SROs or the canyon-permit ordinance was made at the meeting; staff were directed to draft permit language and return with specifics for commissioner consideration.
