PRATTVILLE − About three weeks after Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrell evacuated the Autauga Metro Jail over health concerns due to the presence of black mold, the Autauga County Commission approved most of his requests for additional funding to handle the ongoing transfer of inmates.
The sheriff and county officials have exchanged allegations of lack of communication since the evacuation, but interactions between the sheriff and commissioners during the Tuesday night board meeting were professional.
The commission approved requests for mutual aid agreements with Blount, Crenshaw, Lowndes, Russell and Cullman counties to house local inmates in those county jails. Agreements with Lee, Elmore, Macon and Shelby counties will be presented at the next scheduled meeting.
In an earlier interview, Harrell said county jails that are housing the inmates charge between $35 and $50 per inmate, per day. The county commission is responsible for paying those fees, he said.
The commission also approved an increase in the sheriff’s office vehicle maintenance costs of $10,000 a month to help offset the expense of transporting inmates through the remaining budget year. Harrell had sought a $40,000 increase, but the commission moved to pay $10,000 a month and then review the costs on a month-by-month basis.
“Thank you,” Harrell said after the vote.
“We’re going to pay our bills,” Commission Chairman Jay Thompson said.
The board also approved $5,000 a month in additional fuel costs to help offset transportation costs. Harrell wanted a total of $50,000, but the commission pared it down and said the costs would be reviewed on a month-by-month basis.
“Thank you, every little bit helps,” Harrell said after the vote.
The current fiscal year, or budget year, ends Sept. 30.
The commission did not approve paying Tray Richardson for representing Harrell and sheriff’s office employees. The board also did not approve an open purchase order for setting up a processing center for the transfer of inmates inside the administrative building of the sheriff's office, which would include phone lines, internet service, cameras and supplies. District 5 Commissioner Larry Stoudemire put forth both motions, but they died for a lack of a second. There was no discussion from the other commissioners on the two requests. Harrell hired Richardson, a Wetumpka attorney, to represent him in the jail matter.
The meeting started with an exchange between Richardson and Kyle Shirley, a county attorney. Speaking in the public comment portion of the agenda, Richardson asked for an update from Shirley on moves to repair control panels in the jail and if the county had gotten prices on cleaning the jail.
“If your guy hadn’t walked out of the meeting he would have heard, but the press conference was more important,” Shirley said, apparently referencing Harrell.
“If you want to argue about press conference we can…” Richardson said turning to Shirley.
Thompson told Richardson to direct his questions to the commission, and Richardson dropped the line of questioning.
Bids have been accepted to repair the control panels in the jail, and potential costs are being studied to clean the jail and repair the air conditioning and heating systems, Thompson said.
Later in the business portion of the meeting Thompson said the commission is working with an architect to “…define the scope of replacing the heating and cooling system in the jail.”
Near the end of the meeting, Stoudemire questioned why Shirley had not forwarded information to him about meetings to address the jail issue. He said members of the public have asked him about what is being done and he had no information.
Shirley said he would forward information to Stoudemire from now on.
Stoudemire has been a vocal supporter of the sheriff in the wake of the jail evacuation. The other four commissioners have not made many public comments, allowing Shirley and County Administrator Scott Kramer to handle media requests and inquiries.
Stoudemire pointedly asked Kramer if "we have the money" to pay the housing costs of inmates and efforts to clean and repair the jail and its HVAC systems. “We are working towards a solution,” Kramer said.
Harrell said he evacuated the jail and won’t allow anyone to go back into the facility when he found out about the existence of black mold in the building. He said he asked the commission for several weeks for a plan to address the problem, but never heard a response. He said he was “…backed into a corner,” and had to evacuate the jail.
Kramer says the commission was working in good faith with the sheriff’s office to address the problem when Harrell decided to evacuate the jail without warning.
Following a meeting in June, the commission released a two-page statement that called the evacuation “unnecessary.”
The sheriff’s office and commission hired two different companies to inspect the jail, and both reports confirm the presence of black mold. The commission’s report said the mold is not dangerous because it is not emitting mold spores, but it does recommend cleaning of the jail and repairs to the HVAC system.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
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