The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a request Monday to replace the outdated control boards at the Oglethorpe County Jail.
The current analog system dates to the construction of the jail, which opened in 2007, said Capt. Jonathan James, the jail commander.
“We’ve come to a point now where we have two doors at the Sheriff's Office that are inoperable,” he said.
The control boards operate the gates, water, intercom stations and TVs at the jail, which is part of the Sheriff’s Office.
There are three boards, but James proposed adding a fourth in the dispatch area, suggesting it be used for emergency use. The other boards are in the central control area, main tower and booking area.
The analog system is out of date and James said it’s also tough to find parts and qualified people to repair it.
The new system would be a “major upgrade,” Commissioner Tracy Norman wrote in a text on Tuesday.
The request proposed splitting the cost of the repairs into increments, with the first payment of $37,112, approved Monday night. The total cost for the switchboard repairs will be about $111,336.
This initial payment will come from the capital fund, but future payments will be sourced at a later date.
Lexington’s Ray Channell questioned the funding method for the repair during public comment.
“I heard the term antiquated equipment, and now, of course, using capital funds to address that,” Channell said. “When I hear capital funds, I think of buildings, infrastructure — not switch gears. I’m having a hard time with this.”
Channell also asked who’s being booked in the jail, and the board explained the facility has short-term bookings. The Echo recently reported that other inmates are being held at jails in Wilkes and Hart counties.
Also on Monday, the BOC also approved an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation that allows for high-speed automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) to enforce traffic violations.
These generally are mounted on telephone poles, highway signs or streetlights, and help promote safer driving practices on heavily trafficked roads.
Commissioner Will Brown wasn’t in attendance, so all votes were 4-0.
In other news, the BOC:
- Denied Darrius Tompkins’ variance request for the stormwater detention ordinance on Thaxton Wynne Road, which was a resubmission from Sept. 9.
- Approved Joshua Chumley’s rezoning request to change property on Harris Road from general agriculture to single family residential, as unanimously recommended by the zoning board.
- Accepted the withdrawal of Lynell Faust’s rezoning requests of the land at Morgan Road from general agriculture to agriculture residential, as well as a preliminary plat for the land.
- Approved the rezoning of Jennifer Cabaniss’ request for the approval of a preliminary plat for the land at Center Church Road, which was unanimously recommended by the zoning board.
- Approved the county’s rezone initiation to change multiple pieces of land on Fairground Road from single family residential to general agriculture, which was recommended unanimously by the zoning board for approval.
- Approved the county’s rezone initiation to change multiple pieces of land at Southers Lane from intensive agriculture to general agriculture, which was unanimously recommended by the zoning board.
- Heard from EMS Director Jason Lewis and approved the approximately $27,000 purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and Narcan for county buildings, which is funded by opioid settlement funds.