The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors met in regular session Tuesday. Once again, Sheriff Marty Arganbright addressed the Board on the deteriorating conditions at the County Jail. This time, however, he brought in another regional sheriff to help bolster his case.

Carroll County Sheriff Ken Pingrey, a former Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office employee and current Coon Rapids resident, reiterated Arganbright’s growing concerns. “This jail is a liability. It’s outlived its purposeness and you need to look at doing something and get some ideas… There’s only one person in the county that wakes up each morning thinking about a jail and that’s the sheriff. Nobody wants to think about it and nobody wants to know it exists, but unfortunately it’s reality.”

Pingrey is in the midst of putting together a proposal for a new jail in Carroll County, and suggested Guthrie utilize a committee composed of the Sheriff, Supervisors, and other County officials. The Board agreed to move forward with forming a committee on the possibility of jail improvements.

The Board also approved $349,000 for a patching project for several county roads. The bid by Cedar Falls-based Midwest Contractors was about $100,000 below the original estimate. That project will start August 13th and should be completed by the end of September. Other action items approved included: a mower purchase for $15,752; accepting the bid of $3,107.61 from Arganbright Fencing Materials, LLC, for fence repairs at the County Farm; about $2,600 in tax abatement for properties in Bayard and Guthrie Center; and setting a public hearing for May 1st at 10:30am, regarding vacated roads and alleys in Monteith.

The meeting concluded with the Board officially denying health insurance coverage for part-time employees.