Jail services provide income for county

COLDSPRING – Reporting to San Jacinto County Commissioners’ Court on the status of a contract with Trinity County for jail services, Captain Thomas Bartley said, “We’re doing rather well with no major problems.” The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department is under contract to house inmates for Trinity County. The contract is up for renewal, prompting Bartley’s report to commissioners. “From the first of the year to April 2012 we received $178,069.50 for housing in mates. In the month of May we received over $23,000 making a total of $201,135.50. As of today we got another $11,000 for a total of $212,535.50. That’s short of the budgeted projection of $230,000 but we have three months remaining in this year’s budget to make $7,464.50 to reach our projected budget,” Bartley said. “We’re averaging $23,615 a month for housing inmates and that’s not too terribly bad, however; the inmate population is down currently in Trinity County,” he said. Following Bartley’s report, Commissioners voted unanimously to renew the contract between San Jacinto County and Trinity County for jail services. Commissioners voted to spend a total of $196,528 for new equipment for Precinct 2 and Precinct 4. Precinct 2 Commissioner Donny Marrs requested $38,264 for the purchase of a John Deere 509SE Limited Utility Tractor and $120,000 for the purchase of a Volvo G930B Motor Grader. The motor grader is to be financed by Bancorpsouth Equipment Financing at a 2.55 percent interest rate, according to Marrs. Precinct 4 Commissioner Mark Nettune will be financing about $38,264 for a utility tractor with Bancorpsouth Equipment Financing it over a 14- month period at a 2.5 percent interest rate. In other business, commissioners’ court approved a motion to re-bid work on Wright Boulevard Bridge replacement and Shraderville Road projects in Precinct 2 held over from Hurricane Ike funds. “These projects were delayed for about one year because of environmental and historical studies and now we’re going to have to re-bid,” said San Jacinto County Judge Fritz Faulkner. Commissioners approved the annual local contribution and Mental Health Emergency Center match in the amount of $23,511 for the year 2013 to sponsor Burke Center Services for local citizens. A construction contract change order was approved for the Guinea Road project in Precinct 4 as requested by Commissioner Nettuno. According to Faulkner about three months ago the $75,000 project was situated in the wrong location by the State of Texas and now has to be corrected.