By GLYNIS HART
[email protected]
UNITY — Technology upgrades got you down? Still using that old flip phone or iPhone 4? You’re not alone. The Sullivan County Board of Commissioners heard from department heads Monday about some tech upgrades that can’t wait.
Top of the list was a request from the sheriff’s department for new radios in the police cars. If a car’s radio doesn’t work, it’s not safe to send them out on patrol, so if the radio’s down, the car is down.
The sheriffs have been using Motorolas that are going out of date, and the newest model, the 8500, has only recently become available and is in high demand. The department requested the commissioners allow for the purchase of some Kenwood radios.
Commissioner Jeff Barrette asked about the replacement schedule. A representative from the sheriff’s department said after the two they’re replacing this year, next year all seven will be replaced. The commissioners approved the emergency purchase of two radios for $5,163.90.
Sullivan County Facilities Manager Mary Bourque reported that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services made two unannounced inspections, one to measure the county’s emissions from the biomass burner and three diesel generators. She said NHDES was concerned mostly with the emissions from the turbine.
“There are parts of our turbine that are no longer made that way,” said Bourque. “We’re suffering for a system that has subsequently been improved; we’re going to be facing a decision whether we want to invest in it or not.”
NHDES also made an unannounced inspection of the drinking water at the county facilities, and recommended decommissioning wells that are not in use. “Otherwise, we have to maintain them,” said Bourque. The cost of decommissioning the wells as well as what it would take to bring them back online will be looked at before a decision is made.
The biomass burner will be turned off Tuesday, Oct. 16 and probably be down for one week for repairs.
The commissioners approved a bid to put new locks on swing doors and sliding doors in the jail. The cost, around $97,000, is about half of an earlier bid.
“This looked like $185,000 a couple years ago,” said Barrette. “I’m glad we went looking.”
Human Resources Director Jane Jontz reported that the county is still looking for personnel, especially LNAs (licensed nursing assistants). However, six full-time positions have been filled in the last two months and three more are getting close to the end of the hiring process. Jontz said she was working to bring attention to a local job fair at River Valley Community College, as well as sending notices to all the nursing schools within an hour’s drive. She is also using Indeed, an online job searching tool to find candidates.
“With this really low unemployment rate and the tight nursing market it’s hard,” she said.
Barrette suggested partnering with local high schools to get kids who are planning to go straight into the job market, and trying to do something similar to what Scott Pope has done bringing high school kids to Whelen Engineering’s manufacturing facility.
“The transportation piece hinders it,” said County Manager Derek Ferland.
“There’s no problem here that’s insurmountable,” said Barrette. “Let’s remove the barriers. If we can get these kids in a career that’s going to get them a living wage — there are taxis in Claremont. Maybe we could pay for taxis.”
In other business, the county will be holding a Service Awards Dinner at the Common Man on Oct. 26. In addition to honoring those with exceptional service to the public, the county will present a Community Partner Award to Sturm-Ruger. The county recently hosted the statewide Association of Counties conference in Newport. Ferland said Sturm-Ruger gave outstanding assistance, much of it “without even being asked.”
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