County advances law enforcement center finish‑out as sheriff seeks local inmate medical services

Sheriff’s staff told the Coffey County Commission the county is roughly 90 days from finishing the new law enforcement center and presented a series of procurement and service items needed to open the facility. The sheriff recommended contracting with Coffee Health Systems — a local provider — to supply medical services for the jail. Staff said Coffee Health submitted a revised proposal after negotiations; the county would pay a one‑time $10,000 startup fee to allow the vendor to bring in equipment and set up services.

Sheriff (identified in the meeting transcript as "Mister Johnson") said Coffee Health’s revised proposal would cost about $102,000 per year (roughly $8,500 per month), significantly less than the highest bid the county received (cited in the meeting as about $352,178 per year). The sheriff told commissioners that Coffee Health Systems would staff the jail 40 hours per week, provide a weekly APRN (advanced practice registered nurse) med clinic, and arrange on-call APRN or physician services for incidents that cannot be handled by nursing staff.

Commissioners discussed the recommendation but did not record a formal vote on awarding the contract during the meeting. County counselor Wade Buie was identified as reviewing a requested change in the draft contract; staff said the contract will be finalized and returned for signatures once that edit is made. The sheriff said he preferred the local vendor, citing community benefit and likely operational efficiencies by providing medical care at the jail rather than transporting inmates to an outside hospital.

Equipment and procurement tied to the new facility that the commission did approve at the meeting included: - Authorization for the sheriff to purchase 16 Cisco network switches at a quoted cost of $211,213.90 (technical staff explained the devices power phones, cameras and dispatch systems; a three‑year warranty and four‑hour replacement were included in the vendor quote). Staff said $33,000 would come from the jail FF&E allocation and $178,213.90 from the county’s technology equipment reserve fund. - Authorization for the chairman to sign a purchase order for classroom audiovisual/presentation systems from CCS Presentation Systems, $56,050.42; funds to come from the FF&E budget for the jail project. - Authorization to purchase an evidence‑lab fume/exhaust hood for $33,046; funds from jail FF&E. - Approval of Payment Application No. 14 submitted by River City Construction LLC in the amount of $1,082,032.19 for the period ending Jan. 31, 2025, with funds to come from the jail construction project fund.

What remains: staff said Wade Buie would review and, if needed, revise a single sentence in the Coffee Health Systems contract before the sheriff executes the agreement. The sheriff said the vendor had asked for the $10,000 startup payment to acquire and set up equipment. No final contract authorization was recorded on the meeting minutes; commissioners asked staff to circulate the updated contract for review and signature.