Follow-up inspection of jail kitchen uncovers fewer violations

A follow-up inspection of the Curry County jail kitchen has uncovered fewer major health violations, but state officials remain determined the county must fix problems with the floor.

The inspection by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) on Wednesday found two high-risk health violations — one that was corrected — and one low risk violation.

An inspection in May found seven high-risk health violations, four moderate-risk violations and two low-risk violations. Enough violations, jail Administrator Gerry Billy said earlier, that the NMED would have shut the kitchen down had it not been the only source of meals for hundreds of prisoners.

The jail kitchen remains functioning under a provisional or temporary license until the county provides the NMED with a plan to fix the outdated and deteriorating cement floor.

"The floor is a big problem," said Frank Fiore, acting bureau chief for the NMED's Environmental Health division in Las Cruces. "We're trying to help get them (Curry County) motivated to find the funding for (fixing) it."

County Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick said Billy submitted a plan to the NMED on Friday that temporarily addresses the most immediate concern — standing water that floods the floor from various leaks, creating a potential slip hazard for kitchen employees.

The temporary solution is slotted rubber mats being placed on the floor, Bostwick said, adding that any long-term solution will be expensive.

Bostwick said Saturday he wants to seriously examine the possibility of asking voters once again to approve a $9.3 million bond issue that was rejected in a special April election.

Bostwick said he wants to see the bond issue placed on the November general election ballot.

"I know I will be chastised for that," Bostwick said, adding that the November election would likely bring a larger turnout of registered voters than the mere 9 percent who participated in the April referendum.

"At least then I would have had a higher percentage of people tell me what to do," the chairman said.

At its June 12 meeting, the commission allowed Billy to make a $12,500 budget transfer to pay for a schematic and cost model for the construction of new kitchen and laundry facilities — a job of at least $2.5 million, which the commission would have to later consider paying for through its cash reserves. Bostwick said the plan would involve building a new kitchen and laundry at the north end of the jail.

Bostwick also said he believes trying to renovate the existing kitchen is throwing good money after bad.

"Redoing what we've got is really not the answer," Bostwick said. "It's already too small. We don't have ... capacity for the amount of prisoners we have."

The jail kitchen dishes up about 775 meals per day.

Bostwick said the current jail was never designed to handle the amount of prisoners it has or anything close to that amount of meals.

CNJ Staff Writer Kevin Wilson contributed to this report.