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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Utah County officials are considering upgrading the jail's air conditioning to better handled the peak temperature periods.
Sheriff Jim Tracy said the jail has an evaporative (swamp) cooler and a fresh air vent, "and those two work pretty well unless it gets over 100 or it's very humid."
Tracy said the aim is not to coddle prisoners, but jail officers and staff also have to work there, and excessive heat can create an unsafe environment.
"It tends to shorten fuses and make them irritable when they're hot," the sheriff said. "We're trying to rectify that problem."
County officials also do not want to recreate this situation in the 400-bed jail expansion that's now under construction.
Commissioner Steve White said the solution is to install a three-part ventilation system like the one used at the Utah County Health and Justice building.
It uses fresh air at night when temperatures are lowest, a swamp cooler when temperatures are moderate and air conditioning when the heat really sets in.
High temperatures are only a problem six to eight weeks out of the year, White said.
"I don't have a problem with it being 78 in there," he said. "I have a problem with it being 95 or 98."
No cost estimate for installing a new system was available.
"We don't think it's going to be a hugely expensive fix," Tracy said. "We don't need all-the-time refrigerated air."
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
