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The Belmont County Board of Commissioners addressed several ongoing issues Wednesday, ranging from the volunteer program at the animal shelter to management at the jail.
Commissioner J.P. Dutton noted that for several weeks the volunteer program at the shelter has been suspended following conflicts between some volunteers and the dog warden, Lisa Duvall. Former volunteers have attended prior meetings asking for updates and saying they should have more input in the investigation.
Last week it was announced that two former volunteers have been banned from the shelter. A new volunteer policy has been finalized, and Dutton said the program should be back in operation by early June at the latest.
"We have a tremendous amount of animals currently under care, but things are doing well," Dutton said, adding that the policy changes are "minor."
Human Resources Director Katie Bayness said the policy clarifies the roles of staff and volunteers.
Another matter under consideration is the Belmont County Jail. The commissioners accepted bids for commissary services from Stellar Services, offering to return 32 percent of what the inmates spend in the commissary back to the county, and Keefe Commissary, offering 28 percent.
The commissioners also accepted bids for telephone services from Stellar Services, offering to return 70 percent of money spent on regular calls to the county and 40 percent of video visitations. IC Solutions offers three options of 80.1 percent, 77.1 percent and 73.1 percent for calls, along with 50 percent of remote video visitation and 25 percent of voice messaging. Bids were turned over to the sheriff's office for review.
The proposed contracts are for three years.
The jail has been a topic of conversation for several years, with the need to expand the 144-bed facility. Recently, the commissioners learned the county would not be eligible for a possible grant.
"We're currently averaging about 150 inmates a day," Dutton said.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inmate population had been close to 200 at times. The county has continued the policy of housing inmates outside the county when necessary, most often at Monroe County's jail at a cost of $75 per day and Noble County's jail at $65 per day.
"Those rates have increased a little bit since COVID as well, the rates that those counties are charging," Dutton said. "We try to minimize as much as possible and try to minimize the amount that are transported, but in the meantime, new construction costs keep going up."