Riley County Commission mtg 7-15-20

All Commissioners present. After routine business matters, Pat Collins, Emergency Manage-ment Director, updated Commission on negotiations with FEMA for help repairing flood damage to roads and bridges The County has received a loss compensation declaration from Small Business Administration. They discussed other grant applications from FEMA and Homeland Security. Collins and Mr. Kearns said hikers should be warned that the high water has caused snakes, some poisonous, to move to higher ground. They (hikers) should be alert and wear boots.County is still trying to recruit EMTs and volunteer fire fighters. There have been 156 fire calls so far this year. Last year at this point there were 260.

Clancy Holeman, Administration, requested an executive session, after which he conducted a brief administrative work session.

Bob Isaac, Planner, conducted a public hearing on amendments to Section 9-F Zones (floodplain) of Riley County Zoning Regulations to reflect the FEMA updates to five panel maps. The requested action was mainly to clarify language, to eliminate any confusion. Riley County Planning Board and Manhattan Area Planning Board have approved and recommended adoption of the amendments. Commission approved (3-0) resolution approving clarifying amendment and approved (3-0) the authorization of signature on certificate of adoption.

Brad Schoen, Director, RCPD, reported to Commission on the overcrowding at the LEC. In the A-pod, a few days ago, a "brawl" occurred involving 9 or 10 inmates among the 42 present. Normal capacity is 32. Personnel acted immediately and stopped the brawl. One inmate was taken to the hospital with a broken nose. The jail has three levels of security, for which they use different pods. A-pod is in the lowest category of security, being "dorm-style" housing. Higher risk inmates are housed in individual cells. Capacity for the entire facility is approximately 125. At present there are 138 inmates. The population increases at weekends because working people are often sentenced to weekend confinement so they can keep their jobs. Schoen said he intends to speak to judges about the possibility of these people making "appointments" to serve at lower population times. One other option is to "farm" some inmates out to Ottawa, a one and one-half hour distance away. This is expensive, especially transportation costs. They are trying (temporarily and experimentally) putting the least troublesome inmates, who are on "work-release," in G-pod, a new pod for which they have no personnel to man, with only TV monitoring. But this could be a problem any minute. RCPD will do the best they can improvising until they can hire the new personnel at the first of next year.

Adjourned. Submitted by Lyndal Nyberg.