Sarah Berndt will direct jail transition program

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County Coordinator of Disability Services/General Assistance Director Sarah Berndt is adding another title to her resume.

Berndt will become supervisor/program director of the five-county jail transition program. Coordinators of the program meet with and assess incarcerated inmates in jails in the five counties and provide jail-based intake screening, administer required assessments and facilitate connections to community-based services and supports.

Counties included in the jail transition program in addition to Henry are Des Moines, Lee, Louisa and Washington. Previously, Des Moines County was the county of record for the program.

The possibility of Henry County being the county of record and Berndt heading the program surfaced at last Thursday?s supervisor meeting.

During the meeting, Berndt said the Southeast Iowa Link (mental health region) and the counties in the jail transition program were having difficulty finding a director.

Currently, the job description for the position requires a masters? degree, and Berndt said that was one of the problems in finding a director.

?It?s tough to find a person with a masters? degree and experience to head this program,? she told the Henry County supervisors during their meeting Tuesday.

As the county employer of record, Henry County will pay salaries and expenses for the program and be reimbursed 80 percent of the costs by the other four counties in the program.

Berndt will oversee two employees in the program. A second person is being sought for the program as both former coordinators resigned late last year and just one has been replaced as of now.

?I think this is a good deal for the five counties,? Supervisor Chairman Gary See said. ?It actually could be a decrease (in program cost) to the five counties, depending on who we get (for the other coordinator position),? agreed Supervisor Marc Lindeen.

Previously, one of the coordinators also served as supervisor/program director.

For the added work, supervisors approved increasing Berndt?s salary by $2,700, effective July 1, which will bring her annual compensation to $57,078.

Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss also gave his weekly report to supervisors. Hotchkiss said 220th Street, the site of a six-mile pavement reconstruction project, remains closed to through traffic.

?Things are going good,? he said, regarding the project, ?but we can?t tear out much pavement ahead of the crusher.?

Currently, there are two pavement crushers operating at the construction site ? one at Quaker and Oasis avenues and the other at Nebraska Avenue, Hotchkiss said. Thirteen crossroad pipes have been installed to date, he said, and there are three left to install. Rain, he said, interrupted the crushing operation last week, ?but they are hoping to get started back up today and make a good push with the weather forecasted this week.?

Most of the work has been completed, Hotchkiss said, at Faulkner?s Access. A guardrail was installed last week and the area is being seeded this week. The engineer said that the area was opened to traffic last Friday but may be closed some days this week for shoulder work. Even if the area is closed to traffic during the day, it will be opened to traffic at night. ?It?s all about time and resources now,? he noted.

In other construction projects, work was completed on a bridge near Rome last week, which goes over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Voids under bridge approachments and settlements were repaired.

Last week?s work by the secondary roads crew included a lot of rock hauling, Hotchkiss said. A crew also was dispatched to install crossroad pipe on the Henry-Lee county line and some cold patching on old Highway 34.

Supervisors will meet again in regular session Thursday at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse.