Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves $45,000 request after jail maintenance and plumbing problems described
Summary
Officials described repeated valve failures, boiler and piping damage at the county jail and asked for an additional $45,000 to cover invoices and repairs; commissioners approved the request by voice vote.
County officials told commissioners on Aug. 13 that recurring plumbing and valve failures at the county jail have required repeated emergency repairs and that remaining maintenance funds were nearly exhausted.
The jail administrator (first speaking at SEG 317) said small shutoff valves and larger control valves have been seizing up because of hard water, causing repeated two-person labor calls for replacement. “These small ones are about $350 a piece plus labor,” he said, adding that larger valves can run about $900 apiece. He said invoices related to ongoing plumbing work totaled about $45,000 and requested that amount to cover the rest of the year.
The administrator said he had already transferred $25,000 earlier in the year from another line to cover some of the work and estimated about half of the cell valves have already been replaced. Commissioners asked about expected service life and whether replacement pipe materials (PVC versus copper) could be used; staff said the building code requires copper and that hard water accelerates wear.
A commissioner moved to approve the additional funding request and the motion carried by voice vote.
Next steps: the jail administrator said he will provide follow-up figures if final percentages of replaced valves differ from the estimate and will incorporate this into next year’s budget discussions.
