Red Oak City Council to contribute $2,500 for county's jail study

Supervisor Karen Blue reported to fellow board members that the City of Red Oak had agreed to contribute $2,500 to the current jail study. Durrant of Des Moines is architectural firm awarded the study contract last month.

Blue said the contribution was offered after discussion at the city’s council meeting on July 6.

The cost of the study, which is to be completed by about Sept. 1, is not to exceed $10,000. The remaining $7,500 will be paid for by the county.

The study will help determine steps to take to meet the standards for housing those arrested by either the Red Oak Police Department or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department.

In most communities, a higher percentage of those arrested are by police officers than by county officers.

If a new jail is constructed, both the city and county will need to determine which offices operate from that facility and the economics involved.

In other business, contracts with both the Red Oak and Stanton libraries were approved.

Because Montgomery County does not maintain one central library to meet the needs and requests of rural and urban residents, each library within the county is able to request funds from the county treasury and receive a contract through the Board of Supervisors.

Red Oak Library will receive $16,295 and Stanton Library will receive $4,774 for the fiscal year 2009-2010, which began July 1.

The anticipated requests and contracts from Elliott and Villisca for their libraries are $5,345 and $6,717 respectively. The contracts will be acted upon in future meetings.

Stanton’s submission of $1,428 for dispatching services was approved. Earlier Villisca had paid its suggested $2 per capita, or $2,688, contribution for the 24-hour 365-days dispatching service.

Other bills presented to the board were approved and agenda items were discussed for the meeting slated for 9 a.m. on Thursday July 16. All Board of Supervisors meetings are open to the public.