The Guthrie Board of Supervisors met yesterday and discussed numerous items.

State Jail Inspector Delbert Longley began the meeting with an update on the status of the Guthrie County jail.  He says it is outdated and not meeting certain state classifications, though only about 10% of jails in the state of Iowa do meet such classifications.

If the Guthrie County jail completely fails Longley’s inspection, it could be shut down and Longley could force the county to build a new facility.  Such a possibility is remote, as Longley says the county “has a pretty decent jail,” though the way it operates does open the Sheriff’s Department up to some liabilities.

Sheriff Marty Arganbright acknowledged that his jail isn’t perfect, but he does take pride in having a “great staff of professionals that keep the jail clean and take good care of prisoners.”

Longley says he has only forced one county jail to shut down in Iowa during his near decade as the state jail inspector.

To conclude yesterday’s meeting, Guthrie County Conservation Board Director Joe Hanner met with the Board to discuss the county’s gravel bike trail crossings.

Hanner asked the Supervisors for their approval to apply for a state recreational trails grant that would help pay for the paving of the county’s 14 trail crossings.  Hanner says there is $5 million available in state funding through this program and he expects the application process to be very competitive and challenging.

It is estimated that the cost to pave a trail crossing is about $5,500 apiece according to Hanner.  He says the grant is a 75-25 matching grant, whereby his Conservation Board and the county would be responsible for 25% of funding.  The application deadline for the state trails grant is July 1st.

Ultimately, the Supervisors gave Hanner the go-ahead to apply for the grant with the stipulation that the Conservation Board will do all the maintenance on the crossings, subject to the availability of department funds.