Franklin County panel approves corrections van purchase

FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners accepted a bid of $27,213 Tuesday from Quirk Motor City for an all-wheel drive Ford van to transport inmates.

Jail manager Major Doug Blauvelt said that he received several bids, including some from local dealerships, but Quirk had the van that suited the jail’s needs.

They were looking for a box-style van to replace a seven-year-old van that has started to rust, he said.

The van has a seating capacity for eight. It is not unusual to have to bring 16 to 18 inmates to court in one day, he said. The jail has a second transport van to assist in such cases.

Blauvelt said he and county Clerk Julie Magoon will sit down Thursday and revise a new budget for 2014-15, since it will be $100,000 less than originally submitted to the Maine Board of Corrections.

The board cut the jail’s budget by $100,000 for next year.

He is looking to buy items from leftover funds in this year’s budget that he would normally buy each year, but will be unable to do so next year. Those items include two computers, he said.

If there is any money left over in this year’s budget, it could be carried over to next year, Magoon said.

In other jail business, commissioners voted to change Tara Hamlin’s part-time clerical position to full-time. Blauvelt said she tries to keep her work time to approximately 30 hours, but he needs full-time help.

Hamlin, a corrections officer, was laid off when the jail became a 72-hour holding facility on July 1, 2009, when the state consolidated county jails into one system. She went to work at Somerset County Jail and then came back as part-time at the Franklin County jail, he said.

Blauvelt said the jail’s roof also needs work. From the day the jail downsized, the Board of Corrections has known about the need to replace the roof, but no action has been taken, he said. He doesn’t expect the Board of Corrections to pay for it, he said.

In another matter, Communications Director Stan Wheeler recommended three dispatchers be given permanent status. Their six-month probation status ended June 13.

Kyle Ellis, Mike Ryan and Michael Helie have all worked out very well, he said.

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