ST. CHARLES (KMOX) - The St. Charles County Council Thursday approved two contracts that will allow it to begin the process of renovating the county jail, to protect inmates and staff from coronavirus.
The $600 thousand dollars in contracts hire consultants (DLR and Landmark) who will design the changes, which jail director Daniel Keen says are much needed for a facility he compared to a landlocked cruise ship.
"We get one individual in our facility, it's going to run rampant," he told the council. "Then we're going to be faced with trying to quarantine people in places that aren't made for quarantine. Then we're going to run into challenges of what do you do when 50 percent of your staff can't come to work because they're positive."
The vote came in a special meeting held to ensure that the money will be spent before Dec. 30, so it will be covered by funds from the federal CARES Act.
The one 'no' vote came from Councilman Joe Brazil, who questioned contract language and expediting the process to meet CARES Act funding requirements. "If this 'covid thing' is a needed thing then, okay I'll go along with that. But I don't agree with rushing everything and single sourcing it.
"I know this isn't 'normal'. But we still need our checks and balances," Brazil said.