BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - County Juvenile Detention Center Superintendent Dennis Fowler reported that several surrounding counties are placing detainees in the center and the center is in a position to serve a larger area if the need arises. Fowler made his report at the regular commission meeting Monday morning.
Fowler said the juvenile detention center recently signed a contract with Cape Girardeau County to house offenders, though he said the Cape County has yet to use the facility. He said Stoddard County has been housing offenders from Butler and Ripley Counties on a case-by-case basis. He said the outside sources should provide approximately $71,000 in additional revenues.
Fowler said the center has a contract with Dunklin County, which has been in place for a number of years. He said the state Division of Youth Services pays $45 per day to house detainees and the state pays $14 per day for detainees housed in the facility. Fowler noted that many counties utilize ankle bracelets and other monitoring devices instead of detaining offenders in a facility.
The increase in use of the facility came about after a 2011 decision by the Circuit Court Budget Committee (CCBC) to close two juvenile detention centers in Southeast Missouri. They were in Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau. The only other juvenile detention center in Southeast Missouri I is located in Charleston in Mississippi County.
Fowler said two employees are required for all shifts at the center. The center is manned by full-time and part-time staff. The state pays the salaries of the full-time staff, but so far the center has had to keep more juveniles with the same number of employees. He said he had hoped the state would fund an extra position if the county center draws more detainees from out of the county.
Commission Frank Sifford said the state has allotted up to six full-time positions for the county center, but the "state will not fund the available slots."
"Is there any number of detainees on a daily basis that would require the staff to be increased by one full-time position?" questioned Presiding Commissioner Greg Mathis.
Fowler responded that it would require an average of 17 detainees per day.
"Do we ever see the need for expansion?" asked Mathis.
In response, Fowler said the facility averages eight to nine detainees per day. He said the facility is designed to house up to 21 detainees.
Sifford asked about the arrangements for providing studies and education to the detainees.
Fowler said the center has an agreement with the Bloomfield School District to provide classes at the center. He said the district provides a teacher and an aide. He said they do not pay for the teachers during the summer months, but the county budgeted $3,000 to provide those services during the summer. He said the regular teacher and aide agreed to continue providing the service "for what we can pay them."
"The classes are important because they break up the day for the detainees," said Fowler. "They are given a chance to keep up with their school work. They actually look forward to the classes."
Mathis questioned Fowler about whether the detainees are counted in the Bloomfield school attendance. Sifford said he believed the district did include them in the average daily attendance, which is tied to distribution of state revenues to the district.
Mathis inquired whether there were "any issues" with the center, which is located in the basement of the Justice Center.
Fowler said it could probably need some paint and new tables at some point in the near future.
'Do you see any repeat offenders?" asked Mathis.
"Oh, yes," responded Fowler.
County Clerk Joe Watson asked Fowler whether the center housed more males or females.
Fowler said roughly 60 percent of the juveniles housed there were male.
Mathis thanked Fowler for making a report to the commission.
"You do a really good job," said Commissioner Carol Jarrell.
In other business, Sifford reported that he had met with Steve Duke at the Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission (BPRC). He said Stoddard County was "denied" on all their applications for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). BRPC submitted grant applications for funds to help rebuild roads in the various county road districts as a result of floods in 2011. Sifford said the only project that was approved was the bridge on County Road 410 in Castor Township.
"It was approved, but not funded," Sifford said. He said it was not among the projects funded in the first round of grants, but he was told that it would likely be in the second round when funds are dispersed.
Sifford said the grant applications were to help townships and road districts pay matching FEMA funds. He said FEMA would pay for 75 percent of the cost of replacing the bridge in Castor Township, but the CDBG money was needed to pay the township portion. If CDBG money is not available, the county would have to use BRO funds for the project. Sifford noted that would be taking money away from other bridge projects that had been in the works for several years.
County Building Superintendent William Dowdy told the commission that the needed part to repair the generator would have to be manufactured for repairing the generator at the Justice Center. He said it would take around two weeks for the part to arrive. He said the contractor was ready to make the repairs when the part arrived, and he would try to arrange it so that it would be "close to a weekend."
Dowdy also reported that SEMO Electric was monitoring electrical service to the Justice Center from the transformer to the building. He said SEMO Electric reps wanted to monitor it for a week before they move inside the building to begin testing. He said everything was on hold, including repairs to the HVAC unit on the roof, until that testing was completed.
Mathis asked about humidity levels in the Justice Center.
Dowdy said the humidity levels were high on Thursday and Friday last week. He said the heat as well as the high humidity levels in the outside air contributed to the increase. He said the levels were as high as 70 percent in the front part of the building. He speculated that there were a lot of people in and out of the building on those days which could have contributed to the problem. He said the county had three dehumidifiers operating in the building, but they could not keep the levels from going up.
Sifford asked if the county should buy two more to have one in each courtroom. He said they could be used at night and then turned off in the day when the noise might be distracting in the courtroom. Dowdy said the units probably cost around $300 each. No official action was taken by the commission.