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Residents voice opinions on jail project, board differences


Three Walworth County residents addressed the commission Thursday, Jan. 21, all with different messages for their representatives?
Bill Wackerly of Akaska told the board a new jail should be their priority. He said transporting prisoners is too expensive and will soon overwhelm the budget. Wackerly said the liability issues with transporting should be a great concern for the commissioners.
He said the commission, by failing to fund the sheriff’s department, is failing to keep Walworth County residents safe.
He then said that commissioner Kevin Holgard should immediately resign because of comments he made at a meeting in December.
Lyle Perman of Lowry urged the commissioners to put aside their differences and move forward. He reminded the commissioners that 69% of county residents had voted against building a new jail. He asked if it was because of the cost, the size, or because of a lot of unanswered questions.
Perman told the board they need to agree on what the county was going to do before residents will back the project.
He then encouraged the commission to move forward with a spirit of cooperation and do the right thing.
Resident Roger Thorstenson told the board it was their job to ask questions and push for answers. He said Holgard was not micromanaging but looking for information on county business.
Thorstenson said he is a veteran and knows as a veteran Holgard supports the National Guard. He said Holgard should not consider resigning his seat because of the December situation.

Transports
Prisoner transports was again the topic of discussion with the board.
Commissioner Rick Cain asked Sheriff Josh Boll if the transport team could log their hours allowing for him to be able to track what they are doing during their shifts.
He said the log should show if they are doing paperwork, if they are transporting, or whatever duties they perform while on the clock. Cain said it would help the commissioners better understand what the team does when not on the road. He said if they are not working while waiting for a transport, maybe they could help in other departments.
Holgard aske Boll if he had researched adding cameras and GPS in order for male officers to be able to transport female prisoners. He said there is no law stating only female officers can transport female prisoners. Holgard pointed out that other counties use their male officer to transport female prisoners.
Boll said the reason he is transporting with females only was because it was the recommendation of the insurance alliance.
Holgard asked Boll to research the use of cameras and GPS to cut liability and expense in the transportation team.

Recycling
Landfill Supervisor Becky Krein told the commission it was time to review the tipping fees the county charged haulers to transport refuse to the Walworth County Landfill. She said it had been years since the fees were increased and all other costs had increased.
Commissioners asked for more information concerning costs and what other landfills in the region are charging haulers.
The fee increase will be on the agenda for the first meeting in February.
Krein also asked the commission if the baler, once used at the Mobridge recycling center, should be installed at the landfill for use there.
She said there is a business in Mobridge that is interested in purchasing the equipment if the county is not interested in continuing to bale recyclables.
Krein told the commission the recycling trailers in Mobridge are being used and she thought it wouldn’t hurt to use the baler at the landfill to see if the cost of using it was feasible.
The commissioners also went into the executive session on three separate times during the meeting to discuss personnel issues.

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