On Friday, when a tour group of elected and appointed officials arrived at the Monroe County jail’s laundry room, two industrial-sized dryers were spinning, which made the area smell like freshly washed clothes.
Leading the tour was jail commander Kyle Gibbons, who said about the laundry, “This is the only part of the jail that smells normal.”
In the rest of the jail, the odor is a mix of bodily waste, fresh paint, and cleaning fluids.
The fresh paint and cleaning fluids are part of sheriff Ruben Marté’s effort to clean and sanitize the jail to rectify conditions that confronted him after he was sworn into office at the start of the year.
The tour was another chance for more decision makers to see first-hand the conditions that have been depicted in slide decks presented at several public meetings starting in late January.
On Friday afternoon, it was members of Monroe County’s substance use disorder awareness commission (SUDAC) who toured the jail. Continue reading “Substance use awareness group gets a look inside Monroe County’s jail”
