FARMINGTON – Franklin County commissioners meeting Tuesday accepted the lowest bid for substance abuse and mental health counseling at Franklin County Detention Center pending review by Carl Stinchfield, assistant jail administrator.

Allied Resources for Correctional Health Inc.’s bid of $81,480 won the contract provided it meets the services requested. Other bids were from Evergreen Services, which now provides the service, and Tri-County Mental Health.

An update on training to comply with the National Incident Management System was given by Franklin County Emergency Management Agency Director Tim Hardy, who said, “certifications are coming along slowly.”

The director of EMA, Robert McAleer, told commissioners in a letter dated Sept. 11 that the county needs to come into compliance with NIMS and that availability of future federal grant money, including Homeland Security funds and Assistance to Firefighters, hinged on complying with the training by Oct. 1.

With compliance under way, the county will receive an extension until Jan. 28, but also needs to create and submit a corrective action plan to NIMS before then, Hardy said. County department leaders need to work on the plan, he said later, while municipalities need to adopt an emergency management ordinance and complete an updated resource list of items that could be used in an emergency.

Chairman Gary McGrane, who has completed the training, said the information helped clarify who was in charge of what during an emergency and helped with understanding the terminology to be used eliminating different jargons or expressions used by individual agencies. Everyday simple language is used, he said.

The training and test is available online or manuals are available at the EMA office at the courthouse. Computers with Internet access are also available at the courthouse, Hardy said.

A second assessment of the damage caused by the Patriot Day storm done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency increased the total damage value for the county and towns, Hardy told commissioners.

The first assessment came in at $253,196.20, he said, but following charges of inconsistency and complaints on the first assessment done by a person contracted to FEMA, a second review was undertaken. The second assessment amount was $829,850.54, he said. The federal government will pay 75 percent and the state 15 percent with 10 percent from local funding, he said.

Funding for a part-time, temporary position to help the EMA office with special projects is available, Hardy told commissioners. While asking them to accept the funding, he proposed using the position to help create an appendix to the county emergency plan that would identify special need areas such as locations of elderly housing sites around the county and re-establish shelters and their locations.

The $35,000 from the National Emergency Management Association is to be split between Franklin, Androscoggin and Oxford counties. Franklin’s portion amounts to $11,666, he said.

He proposed a $14 per hour position and mileage for a 20-30 hour week for to four to six months.

In other business, commissioners delayed deciding on a request from the Maine Appalachian Trail Club for the return of $6,000 to support trail improvements. The county receives $9,000 from the federal government in lieu of taxes for the trail property. Commissioner Meldon Gilmore will obtain more information before a decision is made.

Commissioners approved hiring of Walter Fails of New Sharon as a full-time corrections officer following a resignation. Fails has been serving as a part-time corrections officer and has experience in that position.