The Lincoln/Sagadahoc Jail Authority annual meeting previously scheduled for January 9 will be held Wednesday, Jan. 16, beginning at 4 p.m.

“Due to several previously scheduled meetings that Mark (Mark Westrum, Two Bridges Corrections Administrator) must attend on January 9 and other issues, I am once again postponing the January Authority meeting from the 9 to January 16,” Jail Authority Chairman Bud Lewis said. “Please accept my apologies for having to postpone the meeting again.”

The annual meeting agenda includes election of Jail Authority officers, and new appointments to the Authority Board of Directors, who provide direction for the planning, construction, equipping, operation and maintenance of the corrections facility, according to the Two Bridges Regional Jail website.

During the meeting last month, former Lincoln County Commissioner Sheridan Bond and former Judge John Atwood were present to receive plaques for their service to the board of directors. 

Bond had been a member of the Jail Authority since its conception in 2004, and was a strong support of Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties building the Two Bridges Regional Jail to house the offenders from the two counties. 

Bond is being replaced on the board by newly elected Lincoln County Commissioner Mary Trescot. Atwood has served as an alternate member, representing Lincoln County, since 2007. It is unclear who will replace Atwood at this time.

Bed space shortage

Although there was no consensus for the solution of bed space storage, Corrections Administrator Mark Westrum met with Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte, and Ralph Nichols, Director of Inspections and Quality Assurance to discuss the issue. 

Westrum said, the counties are having a hard time finding bed space, and the problem is related to classification of inmates. Bed availability is not always meeting the inmate classification. 

Classifications in the corrections system represent the procedure of placing inmates in one of several custody levels that meet the needs of the offenders. 

The classifications include: maximum, close, medium and maximum. The purpose of classifying the inmates is to determine the level of supervision they will require. 

Two Bridges is one of four flagship jails under the new unified system, the other three being Cumberland, York and Somerset. As a flagship jail, Two Bridges houses inmates from other counties and the Department of Corrections as well as serving Lincoln and Sagadahoc Counties.  

The Lincoln/Sagadahoc Jail Authority members, along with Westrum, do not want to be forced to take inmates that have classifications that do not match the available beds.

The facility was built in 2004 to house Lincoln and Sagadahoc offenders. However, since 2008, under the unified correction system consolidation law, it no longer just has inmates from the two counties. 

Sixty percent of Two Bridges inmates are from other counties.

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.