@oma_documenters Commissioner Roger Garcia is absent today

@oma_documenters Board of Eq agenda approved. They’ll now move on to the regular agenda

@oma_documenters On the consent agenda is a new application process for the county’s Visitor Improvement Fund. Chair Mary Ann Borgeson said they’ll consider applications for allocation throughout the year

@oma_documenters Comm Jim Cavanaugh said the Visitor Improvement Fund helps the community, pointing out past recipients like the Benson Theater. Consent agenda approved

@oma_documenters The County Board is being visited by students from UNO’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. Community liaison Val McPherson said these students are high achievers, and some of them may become president or prime minister of their countries one day

@oma_documenters Comm Maureen Boyle thanked the students for coming. She said their devotion to areas like youth empowerment, mental health, and LGBTQ issues is inspiring.

@oma_documenters Last week, the Board heard an update on the Pheasant Point Landfill taking in waste from last year’s oil spill in Kansas. Representatives from various organizations involved are back this week to provide more data for the Board

@oma_documenters Comm Boyle said the issues in East Palestine, Ohio, is on the Board’s mind, which is why they’re concerned about environmental issues

@oma_documenters A rep from Waste Management said a third party company Burns and McDonnell analyzed the soil for pollutants

@oma_documenters He said the regulatory limit is 500 parts per million, and the highest they’ve seen is 79 parts per million

@oma_documenters A representative said the Nebraska landfill was chosen because it’s a similar distance as the closest Kansas landfill and Pheasant Point is bigger

@oma_documenters He said about 48,000 cubic yards of waste have come in so far

@oma_documenters The Board will now move on to an update from Corrections Director Mike Myers

@oma_documenters Myers said nearly a million dollars were spent on overtime costs in February, up from the previous month, but he said they project significant reductions by May as staffing improves

@oma_documenters The department is still working on getting more robust data from pretrial services, Myers said.

@oma_documenters The new tablet system has increased law library utilization, and Myers said this will allow them to reduce resources to the existing law library

@oma_documenters Myers said there were no voluntary resignations from veteran staff in February. Correctional Officer staffing is up to 93.7%, and a training class of over 30 set to graduate in April will bring the department to 100% staffing

@oma_documenters The minority population in the prison has decreased 3% over the past two months, but still a majority at 64%

@oma_documenters There were 6 hospitalizations in Feb, which Myers said is a big contributor to the increased overtime costs

@oma_documenters He said they’ve seen in an increase in vaccinations since they started advertising them on tablets

@oma_documenters Myers said 48.2% of the population is diagnosed with a mental illness

@oma_documenters He said the department recovered a “significant amount” of illegal drugs that were thrown onto the roof of the jail in an attempt to land them in outdoor recreation areas

@oma_documenters The department is continuing a facility wide safety project, and they’re now focusing on installing safer bunk beds

@oma_documenters A graph going back a year shows that Feb had the highest overtime hours. Myers said the staff they’ve gained recently haven’t been able to make an impact on overtime yet

@oma_documenters Myers said therapeutic housing units allows the department to hold more meetings and activities, as well as give inmates opportunities to lead those activities

@oma_documenters Comm Mike Friend said he’d like to start hearing from the Sheriff every month, since the corrections department doesn’t have authority over who is brought into the facility

@oma_documenters Comm Cavanaugh agreed that it’d be helpful to hear from law enforcement about the disparities of people brought into the facility

@oma_documenters Chair Borgeson said she’d like to hear more about the different programs offered in the facility in future updates

@oma_documenters The Board went into executive session at 10:44 am