Aug. 6, 2013

Sheriff's Dept. will use old airport to battle budget woes

By SCOTT WRIGHT

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CENTRE —As The Post first reported earlier this year, the Cherokee County Commission is facing a long-term shortfall in operating costs at the county jail.

Sheriff Jeff Shaver, who first took office in 2006, has been aware of the looming problem for some time and has been working to find ways to stretch his department's annual budget.

He hopes a big part of the answer to the problem will be the 62-acre site that used to be the Centre Municipal Airport. Shaver said he has been in negotiations with the city of Centre to sign a lease that will turn the property over to the county, specifically his department, for the next decade or so.

As soon as the paperwork is finished, Shaver expects to expand an existing small garden adjacent to the old runway that will help feed an ever-expanding jail population that currently averages around 120 prisoners a day. He also envisions an orchard being planted to serve the same purpose.

“We've got plenty of room to do a lot of things out here,” Shaver said. “And fruit is expensive.”

The former airport will also be used to store an ever-expanding fleet of surplus military vehicles and construction equipment Shaver's department has been acquiring at no cost.

“We're got a motor grader, two pans, a dump truck, a mobile office, a mobile kitchen, a front-end loader,” Shaver said, naming off just a few of the items already parked on an access road adjacent to the runway. “Some of the equipment is brand new.”

Shaver said surplus program coordinator Brent Snead has been requesting the equipment for several months. So far, Shaver figures Snead has accumulated well over $2 million in equipment and other surplus supplies for the department.

Eventually, Shaver said, some of the pieces will be sold to generate operating funds.

“After a period of time, if we no longer need it, we can declare some of the equipment surplus,” Shaver said. “Some of it will have to be turned back in to be redistributed. Other pieces we can sell.”

The growing fleet also includes three patrol boats, a bus Shaver is having converted into a mobile field office, and several U.S. Army Humvees, complete with spare tires and replacement parts.

“The Humvees will come in handy if we have a storm event, and we can use the mobile kitchen for the same purpose,” Shaver said.

Shaver also hopes to convert the former pilot's lounge at the airport into a discreet meeting room and rally point for his investigative units, including the narcotics task force.

“The lounge is a fairly large building and it has been completely gutted,” Shaver said during a recent tour of the site. “We'll use inmate labor to remove some walls and create a space we can use. We need a place to do some training.”

Shaver said it is also possible a portion of the site could be handed over to the county firefighters association to build a much-needed training area that could ultimately benefit homeowners in Cherokee County.

“It is my understanding that every time there is a new ISO rating review, the local departments get scored down because there is no countywide training facility,” Shaver said. “We have the equipment to help them get that done, and we may be able to use the training facility ourselves.”

Shaver said the level of productivity the new location will allow for his department will have positive effects on law enforcement in Cherokee County for years to come.

“This is going to allow us to have some much-need space, which we can't have where we are now because the building is too small and there is nowhere to expand,” Shaver said. “We don't even have a place to have a sit-down meeting right now to brief our people.”

Shaver said a few of the residents of the neighborhood have expressed reservations about having the sheriff's department so close by. He said the people of Northwood Estates have nothing to worry about.

“We want to be a good neighbor, and we want them to feel like it's a benefit for us to be here,” Shaver said. “I expect that, with the expanded law enforcement presence, this will be one of the safest neighborhoods in Cherokee County.”