Van Buren County's sheriff reported that a recent inspection flagged the jail for planning and population-management steps and asked the court to consider a committee to develop an action plan to maintain inmate safety and facility conditions.

The matter matters because the sheriff reported the jail's rated capacity and current occupancy, and the inspection prompted a recommendation that the court assemble or task a committee to address facility maintenance and inmate-safety issues. The court indicated the safety committee is the appropriate venue to handle those matters.

In remarks to the court, the sheriff said the jail's certified capacity for the unit cited is 54. At the time of the inspection the roster reached averages of 70 to 80 inmates on some days and was recorded as 58 at one point; the sheriff told the court staff have worked to reduce the population since those peak days. The inspection office requested an action plan addressing population management, inmate safety and facility maintenance; the sheriff provided a guideline and asked the court to review it and authorize further discussion.

Court members confirmed that jail-related items have historically been handled by the safety committee and indicated the sheriff's request would be referred to that committee for additional review and recommended next steps. The transcript records no formal vote on the referral; the referral was handled as a direction from the court during the department's report.

Ending: The safety committee will review the inspection guideline and any proposed action plan; the sheriff indicated he would meet with the committee at a future date to discuss implementation details and options for reducing daily population pressure.