Plumbing issues, repair bidding timeline force decision
By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
As of June 1, the Barry County jail will be empty.
Due to plumbing issues in the aging building, Sheriff Danny Boyd said inmates will be transported and held in surrounding counties until the new Barry County jail, currently under construction, is move-in ready on Oct. 1.
“We were having major plumbing issues,” Boyd said. “Due to the age of the jail, we were having a difficult time in finding parts that would fit or interchange with our toilets and showers. The cost of the supplies and putting out the bids for the contract work was going to set us out months.
“Finding parts for the current jail and getting bids to do the job is the obstacle we are currently having. Even if we could find the parts, the timeline it would take to complete the project for the work to be done would put us out a month from the new jail opening. With the major repairs that need to be done, we would have to house inmates at other facilities anyway so the repairs can be made.”
Steve Blankenship, Barry County presiding commissioner, said the cost to house inmates in other jails will cost more than repairing the current jail. However, the cost was not the county’s only consideration.
“We would have to transport them out for repairs, then back in after, then out again so the correctional officers can train at the new jail, then into the new jail,” he said. “We didn’t want to be moving them back and forth so often. We also didn’t want to throw repairs at a building we will probably end up selling and not recouping anything back.”
Blankenship cited safety concerns with the additional transports, and hopes when the new jail is open, there may be an opportunity to turn the table.
“We knew the current jail was bad and we’ve been crippling along, but the crutch broke,” he said. “I’ve felt between a rock and a hard place with this decision. There will be some expense, but in the long run, moving them back and forth more is not a good idea.
“Hopefully, after the new jail is open, we can house some inmates from other counties and recoup some of these costs.”
For the next four months, four other counties will be housing Barry County inmates. They include: Stone County, at 110 S Maple St. in Galena (32 miles); Christian County, at 110 W Elm St #70 in Ozark (59 miles); Webster County, at 221 N. Crittenden in Marshfield (92 miles); and Douglas County, at 900 Industrial Road in Ava (93 miles).
Boyd said those facilities all have Webex, a videoconferencing app, which will minimize transports for court hearings.
The jail employs 12 corrections officers. Boyd said some will use compensatory time throughout the summer, while others will file for unemployment when their compensatory time runs out
“We have a call back date for Sept. 16 for all employees so that we can do training before we open the new facility the first of October,” Boyd said.
Regarding law enforcement agencies who bring inmates to Barry County, Boyd said all are informed of the change.
“We have talked to the administration from each department within the county on how we are going to do business for the next several months until the new jail opens,” he said. “We have made arrangements with how we will do misdemeanor and felony warrants/cases for each department.”
The new jail is set to open Oct. 1.
