Jail comments, townhall meetings on county agenda

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Red Willow County, Nebraska, commissioners will have a long day Monday, starting their weekly meeting at 9 a.m. and ending after 2 p.m. -- and after discussing three agenda items dealing with the county's law enforcement center.

The meeting may begin with comments about the jail also, but no action can be taken on comments made during citizens' comments allowed at 9 a.m.

At 10 a.m., commission chairman Earl McNutt will report on a conversation he has had with Bob Houston, director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections, regarding jail contracts. Several Red Willow County residents -- opposed to the proposed size (24-36 beds) and site (the 500 block of Norris Avenue) of the jail/law enforcement center -- have suggested a coordinated effort on a larger county-state jail located near the state's Work Ethic Camp northwest of McCook.

At 10:15 a.m., commissioners will discuss scheduling town hall meetings on the law enforcement center and then they'll break until 12:30 p.m.

After lunch, commissioners will review analysis of the county employees' health insurance plans and modeling results.

At 2 p.m, commissioners have scheduled a planning session with Scott Lundberg of Prochaska & Associates to review progress on design development documents for the law enforcement center.

Other agenda items are:

9:15 a.m. -- A meeting of the county employees' personnel committee to discuss changes to the personnel manual regarding policies on automated systems use, sexual harassment and separation.

9:45 a.m. -- Set a date and time to receive proposals from certified public accountants for preparing the county's budget for 2012-2013.