Commissioners approve jail food deal

Osage County commissioners May 30 approved a food service agreement with an Oklahoma City company for the county jail. The agreement is intended to save money on the feeding of prisoners.

District 1 Commissioner Everett Piper and District 2 Commissioner Steve Talburt voted in favor of the agreement with Benchmark Government Services. District 3 Commissioner Charlie Cartwright abstained from the vote. He had asked to postpone the decision, citing concerns about the training of jail staff members and jail safety.

Cartwright, who is a former jail administrator for Osage County, explained that during a recent inspection visit to the county jail, he asked a member of the staff there what he considered a very easy question regarding the escape route in the event of an emergency, and the staff member was unable to answer the question.

Cartwright noted that the new, outsourced meal service was projected to feed inmates a diet consisting of about 2,800 calories apiece each day, down from what current Jail Administrator Daniel Blevins said was something more than 3,000 calories per day. Cartwright expressed concern that less food for inmates could mean shorter tempers and the possibility of trouble. In such an environment, it will be important for staff members to be well-trained, he argued.

"I am probably the tightest one on this board," Cartwright said, clarifying that he likes the financial savings projected under the new food service agreement, which is to take effect July 1 (the 2023-24 fiscal year will begin that day). What he questioned was whether jail staff members were prepared to respond to challenges.

The agenda item regarding the food service contract said that Osage County would be billed on a sliding scale, "where under 125 inmates is a price of $2,900 total max billed per week." Talburt said that about $5,200 per week was the amount presently being spent on "raw food" with the county managing the inmate feeding operation.

"It's not too good to be true," Miranda Majors, a representative of Benchmark, said regarding the projected cost reduction. She said the company worked with about 20 jails already and could afford to offer attractive pricing because it buys supplies in bulk.

Piper moved for approval of the agreement, expressing a desire to separate the staff training issue from the board's consideration of the outsourcing proposal.

Sheriff Eddie Virden was not present for the board meeting. He was represented by Blevins and Deputy Ronnie Stevens. In an interview later, Virden took issue with Cartwright's concern about the training of jail staff members. Virden said he has records for the past six years to show that training has been provided for the jail staff.

"We are always looking to improve and do better," Virden said. With regard to jail security, he said the Sheriff's Office uses its Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team, if needed.

"Charlie never had any of these conversations with me," Virden said.

Cartwright responded to Virden in a telephone interview. He said that he had a conversation following his recent tour of the jail with Blevins and Stevens.

"I gave them a chance to change my mind, but they couldn't," Cartwright said.

"I want the jail to be able to contain a problem if it occurs, because now we’re feeding them (the inmates) less than we used to," Cartwright said.

The county board's agenda for Monday, June 5 (issued Friday, June 2) included an item for Virden to engage in discussion regarding the county jail. Virden also prepared a written statement that addressed the issue of jail staff training.

In that statement, which he shared with the Journal-Capital, the sheriff said a full-time training officer would be in place for the jail by June 5, 2023. The training officer would "implement and uphold national accreditation standards, train officers full-time, and establish a full-time CERT team among the ranks of Osage County detention officers," according to the statement. CERT stands for Correctional Emergency Response Team.

Cartwright told the Journal-Capital that he would not be present for the June 5 meeting due to an important personal appointment.