The Tri-County Community Corrections Board met in the Polk County Justice Center on Monday morning.
The agenda began with the approval of the monthly statistics report and a Northwest Regional Corrections Center (NWRCC) Statistics Update from November 2021 to April. The Board approved all statistics unanimously.
The Board then received a Personnel update from Executive Director Andrew Larson. He reported that through the month of March, they made 196 arrests, most of them being for Controlled Substance use and DUIs, and 70 cases were closed during March. He then reported that many other new officers were employed during the first week of April and at the end of March, as well as a few staff changes. Such as Teaunna Storey being promoted to the position of Probation Agent on April 4 and Taylor Cantrell giving her intention to resign on May 4th. With these new additions, all their vacant positions in the Center have been filled, although they have about 14 officers that are still in training.
Director Larson then gave an update on a timeline for Reopening a Housing Unit in the NWRCC. He gave an overview of the timeline for the currently closed Housing Units they had been working to reopen since November. Larson reported that with the lack of trained officers, sudden retirements, and COVID sick leaves, the Unit is still unable to be opened now or in May as they originally intended, “I reported that we currently have about 14 staff who are currently in training, with six of them completing their training at the end of April, which leaves up with eight who have some training to complete over the course of May and early into June.” Executive Director Larson explained, “Based upon where people are at in their current training plans, I feel fairly comfortable that we should be able to reopen all of our housing units within the jail and return to a compacity of 200 inmates in mid-June.” Larson believes that the Housing Units should be able to fully reopen by early June, specifically the weeks of June 6 or 13, as the best opportunities to reopen it again, depending upon if they lose any additional staff or any other issues they come across. He asked the Board to schedule an official approval motion for a June reopening of the Corrections Center facility in their next meeting in May, to which the Board agreed unanimously.
The Board then received an update on a timeline for Reopening a Facility in the RRVJC from Director Larson, who reported that construction on it was beginning that day, Monday, April 11, with work first being done on the plumbing and pipe works. He reported that based on the 210-day timeframe included in the bid for its completion, work would first begin with the pipes and that contractor agreements were beginning to take effect. They then heard from Deputy Director Paul Bissonette that the completion date would be around October 28, with full facility occupancy ready by October 31. Bissonette then gave some estimations of how financials would impact both Centers, with there being significant revenue reductions for both facilities, mainly for the NWRCC, due to the delays of its reopening. There were also some expenditures happening with the RRVJC and other facilities statewide due to them not having enough beds and space for new or potential higher risk juveniles that were coming in. Based on their past experiences, he estimated that there would be an anticipated loss of $546,000 over the next few months. Bissonette recommended that the RRVJC should burrow some ideas that the NWRCC was doing to make up the money for their losses and to help their staff grow, such as using American Rescue Plan Act funds, have a possible subsidy increase in the second half of the year, and use some money saved due to not having to hire personnel right away for the two facilities. “We discussed a plan for when we would look at recruiting for when we would look at recruiting to hire for any open positions, start the training process, and I think the Board was pretty comfortable with the plan that we outlined, though it was also acknowledged that the need for us to be flexible and adaptable because timeframes with construction projects change.” Larson explained, “If they encounter any issues or any delays in getting certain supplies, we’ll be evaluating that on a regular basis to make sure that we’re staying on top of the timeframes that we have established and for any adjustments that might happen.” Larson reported that he was confident that things would be back at full strength in about six months, and the facilities would be reopened by then. The Board then asked Larson to receive a timeline of when they believe all projects for it will be completed for the Board to know for their next meeting in May.
The Board then began a discussion on if they would receive any of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding that the Counties had received from the State due to COVID-19. They originally had presented this back in December but chose to table it then to allow the Counties to evaluate the other Departments and see which Departments need it the most. Larson reported that Polk County has contributed $135,000 for revenue loss for Tri-County and found that there were still some funds left over that they could use and requested to the Board that he would send out a request to the three counties and auditors to approve plans for them to receive some of the ARPA funding for themselves. “Based upon my conversations with Polk County Administrator Chuck Whiting and with the auditors from Red Lake and Norman Counties, it appears that there is still some additional ARPA funding left.” Larson explained, “The Board approved my request to submit a request to each of the Counties for some ARPA funding, which will be beneficial to help offset revenue loss that we’re experiencing with the Juvenile Center and Jail Closure.” The Board approved the motion unanimously.
The Board then discussed a Community Justice Reinvestment Grant Contract for Office of Justice Programs for the TCCC Pre-Trial Supervision Program that would go until the end of 2023, where they will hire a pre-trial Agent to potentially reduce prison populations. They then discussed an agreement for a new TCCC Salary Schedule Grid of Teamsters Local No.320 Memorandum of Understanding of a settled revised salary grid that would take effect on July 1 to increase salaries for workers. The Board approved both contracts unanimously.
The Board then heard a Miscellaneous item of House File 4609- a Justice Reinvestment Initiative Bill. The Bill was brought forward in the House of Representatives that implements many funding recommendations for the Counties. The Bill will create a Supervision Understanding Committee to look at Supervision practices across the state and determine how much funding each area will receive. It includes a $250,000 start for every county and will make decisions on whether to increase or decrease funding based on their findings. “The Bill calls for a big review of how funding is handled in the State of Minnesota. It would create a system where there would be consistency, transparency, and uniformity in how each of the three delivery systems in Minnesota receives probation funding.” Larson explained, “It would also create an advisory committee representing all three systems and other criminal justice stakeholders to evaluate the work of probation to establish minimum standards that will help drive consistent, uniform delivery of probation services in the future.” While the House is for the bill, the Senate is not, believing that it will be soft on crime rather than tough, but Larson said that it was the opposite as it would help control the probationary process. He asked that any members go to whoever they knew in the Senate, such as Senator Johnson, to try and convince them to come to a resolution for the Bill. As while the Senate and mainly Republicans have provided their own proposals to provide significant funding to Probation Services, they do not address some systemic issues in Probation Service deliveries. The Board agreed to try and do their part to try and help the Bill pass in the Senate.
The Board then closed the meeting with a closed meeting with Director Larson informing the Board of an allegation of employee misconduct that had been raised recently and gave them updates on its current status. No further information was released due to it still being an active investigation.
The next Tri-County Community Corrections board meeting will take place in May.
