The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met Thursday. They spoke with representatives from the City of Guthrie Center and the Sheriff’s Office to discuss the possibility of the County providing law enforcement to the City. Mayor Denny Kunkle, Councilman Randy Nickel, City Administrator Laura Imerman and Police Chief Rod Pavelka are all in the favor of the proposed plan, which would provide 60 hours of patrol to the city, in exchange for approximately $197,000/year. Sheriff Marty Arganbright and Chief Deputy Jeremy Bennett support the plan, which would pay the salaries of two full-time deputies, purchase all of their equipment and lease two new fully-equipped law enforcement vehicles over a four-year term. The County would get 20 hours of patrol from the new deputies free of charge. The deal would allow for 24/7 law enforcement coverage in Guthrie County, would reduce overtime and comp time for the Sheriff’s Office and would have a clause that would allow either party to terminate the contract at any time.

Despite support from the two other entities involved in the discussion, the Supervisors remain unconvinced. Supervisor Everett Grasty believes the plan could only be a short term fix but would not fully fix law enforcement issues in the City and County, he says it would be like putting on a band-aid on a major wound. He also cited a poll of Guthrie Center residents which reported that many are happy with the City having a police department. Supervisors Mike Dickson and Jerry Caraher say they need to do a lot more research before they’re ready to vote on the issue. No action was taken at Thursday’s meeting, but the topic is expected to be a major discussion item at meetings for weeks to come.