Commissioners updated on repeater, security issues

Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon let the Hot Springs County Commissioners know there is a problem with hospital employees hearing the pages that come through dispatch.

Apparently, the repeater between the hospital and dispatch is out of service and they aren’t really sure how long it has been that way.

The hospital has been using cell phones to talk back and forth between the ambulance crew and the emergency room in order to be prepared if victims are being brought in.

Until the repeater is repaired, Gordon suggested the hospital use an analog scanner as the ambulance service and the fire department are both still using analog service. In the meantime, Gordon is going to be looking into grant monies that may be available to do the repairs.

Gordon has also sent in the paperwork to the state regarding the exercise that was done in September.

As soon as the exercise was completed, those who participated sat down for a few hours and discussed everything, both good and bad, so plans can be made to fix anything that went wrong.

The main issue appeared to be communications, and come February, Gordon plans on starting to work on those issues so they won’t be a problem in a real-life situation.

The commissioners discussed court security with police chief Steve Shay, sheriff elect Jerimie Kraushaar, Gordon and the head of IT, Dean Peranteaux.

There is a $30,000 grant to be used for court security, but the main question is who, now, is going to be in charge of it all.

Some of the items are district court and some are circuit court, things like security cameras, but they are wanting to determine who should be in charge of things like monitoring the cameras while the courtrooms are in use.

Gordon provided a list of things for all the entities to think about and then they will meet in January to determine how its all going to work. At that point, there will be new judges, a new county attorney, new sheriff and new chief of police.

Maintenance Director Anthony Fruciano let the commissioners know there are a few things that are going to be coming up that will need to be taken care of. There is nothing that is an immediate problem, however, plans are going to have to be made and money set aside for a few things.

One of the issues is the door between the jail and the elevator. It is still working at this point, but when the company that did the jail upgrades were here several weeks ago, they determined there is a lot of wear with the inner workings of the door and suggested the county begin thinking about having it replaced.

They are the original manufacturers of the entire jail system for the county, and their bid was $27,000 for fabrication and replacement, which would take about three months to complete.

Another issue is at the Carnagie Library which houses the UW Extension Service.

There is missing mortar between bricks and other age-related issues going on with the building. Fruciano said they aren’t immediate problems, but are going to have to be taken care of before too long.

Fruciano is currently looking at some possible grants that may be available as it is an historic building.