Electronic security in the Washington County jail will undergo an overhaul after commissioners approved a new $2 million computer system last week.
"There's no question the need is there," said Commissioner Gary Kriesel, chairman of the County Board.
The contract with Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Inc., will replace a 23-year-old security system that operates doors, lights, radios, water flow and electronic monitoring.
"We have hundreds and hundreds of cameras doing the recording," Jail Cmdr. Roger Heinen told commissioners.
"A lot of parts are failing, not quite working," he said later. "We have blind spots where we can't see inmates and staff if there is an altercation."
The jail has five levels, four with housing pods and a control center from which correctional officers monitor inmates' behavior.
Even when the 223-bed jail isn't full, inmates are segregated by gender, age, behavior and mental illnesses — leaving many angles and corners to watch.
KEVIN GILES
ANDOVER
Fire department has new schedule plan
The Andover Fire Department is starting a new scheduling format to ensure that there are enough paid on-call firefighters to handle an emergency at any given time.
The format known as duty crews has been adopted by other paid on-call fire departments, including Maple Grove, Mound and Eagan.
During a recent City Council meeting, Fire Chief Jerry Streich said he struggles to find enough volunteers to respond to calls during the day, when many of the paid-on-call firefighters are working at their other jobs.
"With the current process, I have no idea who is coming," Streich said.
The firefighters are being asked to sign up for four shifts per month.
The duty crews staffing model will only be used at Station 1, the busiest station, Streich said.
Karen Zamora
