FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to pay the $315,288 owed to the Board of Corrections by April 30 for the jail.

Commissioners had voted April 2 to hold the payment, in part, because of their dissatisfaction with the state jail system.

Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon opposed the motion.

Prior to the vote, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. recommended commissioners pay the last half of the money owed.

“Maybe it is best to give them the last payment for the fiscal year and withhold payments in 2013-14 if there are issues,” Nichols said.

If the county holds this year’s last payment, it could cause problems for Franklin County and other jails, he said.

Franklin County is in the process of trying to have the Franklin County Detention Center licensed as a full service jail, as it was prior to July 1, 2009. It is currently a 72-hour holding facility.

There has been one delay after another in trying to get the jail relicensed, he said, and he doesn’t want another one because Franklin County didn’t make its payment.

Since the check already has been written and since the county has had a recent favorable report regarding the jail, Nichols said he didn’t want to do anything that may jeopardize the chances of obtaining the license to become a full service facility.

However, if the Board of Corrections denies issuing the license, he recommended the county withhold any further payments.

Nichols said he was not backing down by recommending the payment, but they are only looking at two more months left of this fiscal year.

“We gain nothing by withholding now, but we will re-evaluate where we are in July,” he said. “We are in the process of acquiring estimates on food vendors, medical/mental health services and are currently taking applications for new staff.”

Hardy said he would be willing to pay half of the money. The inmates were housed during the third-quarter at Somerset County. That county stopped taking other counties’ inmates after the state didn’t pay them the third quarter amount due it for boarding inmates.

He is not willing to pay the fourth quarter, he said, since the county is having to drive inmates around the state to find an open bed.

“I’m hesitant to do that,” Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay said.

That might exasperate the whole thing, he said.

“We’re trying to get our license back,” Nichols said. “This would show a good faith effort.”

Nichols doesn’t want people to say the unified system collapsed because of Franklin County, he said.

He doesn’t want to give the Board of Corrections “one more bullet to put in their magazine,” he said.

“It’s an awful mess and if we don’t take care of the state and pay the last quarter, they could hold it against us,” Chairman Clyde Barker of Strong said.

Hardy’s motion to pay half failed for lack of a second.

McGrane made a motion to pay the full amount and it passed, 2-1.

dperry@sunjournal.com