BY JERRIE WHITELEY

HERALD DEMOCRAT

SHERMAN -- Grayson County's agreement with Hale-Mills about a review of the county jail comes back before county commissioners Monday. The Commissioner's Court meets at 10 a.m. at the Grayson County Courthouse in Sherman.

One of the items before commissioners will be a request to approve a letter of agreement between the county and Hale-Mills outlining expectations for the inspection of the jail. Commissioners approved, by a vote of three to one last week, a request to have the company study the county jail to see if it can be renovated to meet the county's current needs, and if so, at what cost. Commissioner Gene Short voted against the measure because the county pulled out, a few weeks earlier, of an agreement to have another firm perform essentially the same task. That inspection was supposed to be paid for in part by the county and in part by the city of Sherman.

Short said allowing Hale-Mills to perform the study is wrong because the company was the construction arm of Southwestern Correctional, a private company selected by the commissioners to help the county build a privately run jail. Short contended that would be a conflict of interest. Other members of the Court saw it differently. Commissioner David Whitlock said it wouldn't be a conflict of interest as long as Hale-Mills agents understood that they would have to put in a bid for the jail project, should one be built, just like any other construction company, and that bid would be judged by the same criteria used for the other bidders.

In addition to discussing the agreement between the county and Hale-Mills, commissioners will consider:

• a request to appoint two members to the Sick Pool Review Panel;
• a request to approve an agreement with Texas Department of Transportation Aviation to update the Airport Master Plan;
• a request to approve a budget amendment for the North Texas Regional Airport;
• a request to authorize County Judge Drue Bynum to sign CUC Software Agreements;
• a request to authorize the solicitation of bids for floor repairs to Hangar 5513;
• a request to declare items from Precinct 3 surplus to sell at auction;
• a request to amend and/or modify the interlocal agreement between Grayson County and Texoma Council of Governments for providing GIS and addressing services;
• a request to amend the Precinct 2 salary order;
• a request to assist Choctaw Watershed Water Improvement District to remove debris from the inlet on Grade Stabilization Structure 102;
• a request to accept insurance settlement and amend the Precinct One budget to repair a building that sustained storm damage;
• a request to authorize Bynum to sign annual library contract with city of Denison;
• a request to approve and/or ratify engineering services contract to investigate the capacity of existing roof, ceiling, and walls of the three 48-bed jail pods for conversion to maximum security;
• a request to approve draw number 34 from SH 289 bond fund to SH289 Builders;
• a request to permit to do a road bore to install water customer service.