Commissioners approve contract for repair work at county lockup
Fayette County Prison warden Brian Miller looks at a door in a wall that will be sealed up as part of a structural repair in the basement of the prison. The door, which has been stuck shut for several years, opens to the rear of a walk-in freezer that was installed in 2002, and will be removed along with the adjacent wooden wall to be replaced with a solid structural wall.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
The Fayette County Prison has accepted a bid for a doorway repair in the basement of the main prison building. The doorway, at left, was stuck shut for several years, during which time it was feared that foundation settling had left the doorway itself supporting the structure above it. The door was pried open for repair assessment and the entire doorway and adjacent wooden wall to the right will be replaced with a solid wall.
Fayette County will spend $3,900 to shore up a basement wall in the prison that appears to be deteriorating.
In unanimous action Thursday, Commissioners Vincent Vicites, Dave Lohr and Angela M. Zimmerlink hired Weeger Contracting of Lemont Furnace to rehabilitate the affected wall and door.
Warden Brian Miller said workers have been unable to open the door for several years due to the masonry wall above it “sinking” into the door frame.
However, recently, Bill VanMeter, maintenance officer, was able to pry it open to allow contractors to assess the work to be done.
According to Miller, the wall was altered in 2002, when a cooler was installed for the prison kitchen.
A portion of the masonry was removed and replaced with a wooden partition.
When Miller accessed the doorway, he found a post jack holding a beam in place and speculated those who had altered the masonry wall installed the jack for added support.
“(Weeger) is supposed to remove the door and put in a concrete wall,” said Miller.
Commissioners have made repairing the interior and exterior at the jail and courthouse a priority over the past year, with roof repairs recently completed and plans being formulated to rehabilitate areas damaged by the infiltration of water.
In another prison-related matter, commissioners agreed to the terms of a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the county’s 50 corrections officers, all members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local 9113.
The union earlier signed the contract.
Chris Bennett, local union president, said the agreement was beneficial to both parties.
“We are glad to be done with the process,” he said Thursday. “What could be resolved, the county and union worked together to agree. What we could not agree on, we took our cases to the arbitrator that ultimately ruled on an agreement I feel is fair for both sides.”
The current contract expired in December.
According to Amanda Porter, county human resources acting director, workers will receive a 2 percent salary hike in 2017, 2.5 percent in 2018 and 2019 and a 2.9 percent increase in the final year of the agreement.
Lohr said the negotiated contract was “reasonable.”
“There was give and take on both sides,” he said.
Commissioners additionally approved back payment of retroactive wages and benefits effective Jan. 1 in compliance with the new contract.
According to the human resource office, the back pay total for the six-month period is $26,000. Workers will receive a lump sum, based on the number of hours worked, in their next paycheck.
In other action, commissioners also conducted the following business:
n Agreed to advertise for bids for the Jacob’s Creek Park Master Site Development Plan and Trail Feasibility Study.
n Hired attorney Robert Gordon as an assistant public defender at an annual salary of $24,589. He replaces attorney Michael Garofalo, who tendered his resignation June 2.
n Approved the promotion of Colin Boyle to Assessor 1 at an annual salary of $26,917 and Nicole Kmetz to Human Resources assistant 1 at an annual salary of $29,757.