The Stearns County Board of Commissioners voted to approve G2, a 2026 reserve-bed contract that maintains county access to contracted juvenile-detention beds after commissioners pressed staff about usage and costs.

County staff member Mark answered commissioners’ questions about the contracts, saying, “we averaged in Stearns County in 2024, we averaged about 3.54 youth in custody in those beds on a daily basis.” He explained the county holds contracts with both Lino Lakes and Prairie Lakes and that the agreement before the board reduces one of the Prairie Lakes beds from two to one because of price and variable need.

Mark told the board the Lino Lakes arrangement was quoted at $400 per bed-day for next year. He said that figure is $140 less than Prairie Lakes’ rate as quoted in the discussion, which implies Prairie Lakes’ rate is about $540 per bed-day. Staff also said Prairie Lakes had notified the county of a $100-per-day increase for the coming year. The county pays for reserved beds whether they are occupied or not, and Lino Lakes described their model to the board as a rolling allocation of bed-days across months, while Prairie Lakes treats reservations more on a day-by-day basis.

Commissioner Johnson moved approval of the contract; another commissioner seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote.

In answering operational questions, Mark said occasional additional individualized costs (for medical services or one-on-one watch for behavioral/mental-health needs) do occur and that the county typically assumes those costs when they arise. He also described coordination with Human Services (identified in the transcript as Becky Bales’ team) to match beds and programming needs.

The board did not provide a named tally beyond a voice vote. Commissioners and staff noted the county is mandated to hold juveniles in custody when circumstances warrant, and that contracts help avoid ad hoc placements such as leaving youth in conference rooms or unfit holding areas.

Next steps: staff offered to provide the total bed counts at each facility on request and to follow up with additional clarifications about contract terms and bed inventories.