The county had several bills relating to the upkeep of the jail and one very large expense that is still to be resolved.ย  The first and largest of the expenses is the necessity of fixing the roof leak at the Austin County Jail/Sheriff’s Office.ย  The problem stems from the fact that the old part of the sheriffโ€™s office/jail is an older building with a flat roof design.ย  A representative for the company contracted to repair the roof explained the issues and problems with the current roof.ย  The current roof has been on the jail since 1982 and was only to have a life expectancy of 30 years but is now on its 33rd year.ย  The issue facing commissionerโ€™s court is whether or not to replace the existing flat roof with another flat roof or should an angled roof be constructed on the jail to allow water to roll of it easier.ย  This issue is compounded by the fact that the building itself is aging, it was even speculated as to whether it was even worth putting that much money into an older building that is also beginning to have plumbing problems and other maintenance related problems.ย  An angled metal roof would cost around $165,000 but, would have the additional expense of having to move the air conditioning units off the roof via crane and then re-install them once the project was finished.ย  That additional expense figure was still not available to the commissioners by the time the court reconvened at 1 pm.ย  To install another flat roof came in at $184,223 without having the need to remove the air conditioning units.ย  Both roofs would be guaranteed for 30 years.ย  The issue was tabled pending finding out the figures for having the a/c units removed and put back on.

The second expense was related to the backup generator needing repairs.ย  Sheriff Brandes explained to the court that the generator had a pinhole that had previously been patched but that the company servicing the generator stated that it was now necessary to do a replacement.ย  The total of that replacement was going to be $5259.40.ย  There are 2 separate generators, one for the jail and one for dispatch.ย  The generator that is needing to be replaced is the one for the dispatch. This expense was voted to be carried out.

The third expense facing the jail was the need to replace boilers at the Austin County Jail/Sheriffโ€™s Office. ย The figure given for the replacement was $15,675.23.ย  These were going to be the โ€œtanklessโ€ and more energy efficient water heaters vs. the boiler kind that keeps a predetermined amount of water heated continuously.ย  This repair was approved by the court.

The fourth and final expense for the jail was concerning replacing the uninterruptible power system (UPS) for the monitoring cameras and security system at the Austin County Jail/Sheriff’s Office.ย  This was going to cost $7744.ย  The system was explained as being primarily like a surge protector but, it also supplies power to the security system as well until the generators, which can take up to a minute to kick in, are operational to take over the power needs.ย  This power is also related to the locking and unlocking of doors as well as other security functions in the jail.ย  This expense was approved by the court.

ย (The discussion concerning the roof on the jail takes place from 00:00:14 –ย 00:35:02 of the video)

(The discussion and subsequent vote concerning the generator takes place from 00:35:02 –ย 00:36:25 of the video.)

(The discussion and subsequent vote concerning the hot water heaters for the jail takes place from 00:36:25 –ย 00:42:34 of the video)

(The discussion and subsequent vote concerning the uninterruptible power system (UPS) takes place from 00:42:34 –ย 00:45:52 of the video)