Staff writer
Marion County Sheriff’s Department will host an open house at Marion County Jail Sept. 7 and 8.
The Friday session will begin at 3 p.m. and continue until 7 p.m. The Saturday session will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sheriff Robert Craft said the jail is not yet completed but will look to move prisoners over as soon as possible. Craft was concerned that the Communications Department will not be available to oversee jailers who enter secured areas alone. Commissioners said dispatchers will be available to come over at night to observe these interactions.
Communications and law enforcement operations will remain at the old jail building temporarily. Craft said he was meeting with representatives from AT&T about phones in the jail on Monday. The jail would have phones but no intercom system to start, Craft said.
In other business:
- The commission called representatives from the two companies that bid on the fence project at Marion County Lake to meet Monday. The agreement with D&L Enterprises was rescinded after commissioners decided to not pay for a year’s worth of liability and worker’s compensation insurance for the job. They asked both of the original bidders to bid again without including any insurance but stressed that insurance was still necessary to receive the job. The bids are due by the commission meeting Friday. They were also asked to differentiate bids by used and new piping for fence poles.
- Commissioners signed a Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant received by the County Health Department. The department received $14,828 from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
- A methane gas meter for the former land fill area was approved for $670. Engineering, Solutions, and Design consultant Jack Chappelle also informed the county that ground water sampling from Kansas Department of Health and Environment will decrease to once a year instead of quarterly.
- The commission approved a recycling bin in Ramona to be moved to meet the growing demand in Goessel. Recycling director Rollin Schmidt reported that Goessel is filling all three of its containers.