ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Board of Commissioners addressed several ongoing issues Wednesday, ranging from the volunteer program at the animal shelter to management at the jail.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton noted that for several weeks the volunteer program at the shelter has been suspended following conflicts between some volunteers and the dog warden, Lisa Duvall. Former volunteers have attended prior meetings asking for updates and saying they should have more input in the investigation.

Last week it was announced that two former volunteers — Aaron and Jodi Apitzsch — have been banned from the shelter. Both also had been banned from the shelter’s Facebook page, with the commissioners expressing concern that the pair’s postings about the animals to market them were inaccurate.

The Apitzsches have contested this, saying they only posted about their own experiences with the animals.

A new volunteer policy has been finalized, and Dutton said the program should be back in operation by early June at the latest.

“We have a tremendous amount of animals currently under care, but things are doing well,” Dutton said, adding that the policy changes are “minor.”

Afterward, Human Resources Director Katie Bayness said the policy clarifies the roles of staff and volunteers.

“We try to revise all of our policies every so often anyway, so this was time to revise that policy, make sure that it was updated with current expectations for volunteers, that we’re putting the best foot forward for the animals and making sure that they are taking priority,” she said. “We’re going to do a volunteer orientation just to make sure everyone coming in is on the same page. Our goals there are to serve the animals, find homes for them and get them adopted out, but we have to make sure we’re doing that safely for the animals and residents are going to be with.”

She said social media is also addressed in the policy, with information posted about the animals going through the staff.

Another matter under consideration is the Belmont County Jail. The commissioners accepted bids for commissary services from Stellar Services, offering to return 32 percent of what the inmates spend in the commissary back to the county, and Keefe Commissary, offering 28 percent.

The commissioners also accepted bids for telephone services from Stellar Services, offering to return 70 percent of money spent on regular calls to the county and 40 percent of video visitations. IC Solutions offers three options of 80.1 percent, 77.1 percent and 73.1 percent for calls, along with 50 percent of remote video visitation and 25 percent of voice messaging. Bids were turned over to the sheriff’s office for review.

The proposed contracts are for three years.

The jail has been a topic of conversation for several years, with the need to expand the 144-bed facility. Recently, the commissioners learned the county would not be eligible for a possible grant.

“We’re currently averaging about 150 inmates a day,” Dutton said, adding the commissioners are focused on the need to fill the position of medical director for the county jail after the retirement of Dr. George Cholak, former health director. “We are currently in the process of interviewing — along with the sheriff’s department — potential medical directors.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inmate population had been close to 200 at times. The county has continued the policy of housing inmates outside the county when necessary, most often at Monroe County’s jail at a cost of $75 per day and Noble County’s jail at $65 per day.

“Those rates have increased a little bit since COVID as well, the rates that those counties are charging,” Dutton said. “We try to minimize as much as possible and try to minimize the amount that are transported, but in the meantime, new construction costs keep going up.”

The commissioners also approved a juvenile court grant agreement with the Ohio Department of Youth Services for $160,365.57 for the CrossFit for Change program and the Concentrated Conduct Adjustment Program.

Jennifer Shunk, Juvenile Court administrator, said this provides community service for juvenile inmates, as well as mental health counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, independent living skills and other educational needs.

She said about 15-20 juveniles are scheduled for the program so far, which will begin June 5.

“CCAP’s going really well. We are planning for the summer,” she said. “It’s a program that lasts Monday through Thursday for those involved, and they go from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and CrossFit will also be incorporated through the summer.”

She added that CCAP is also offered after school one day per week for those who do not complete it over summer.

Dutton said the program is valuable.

“That’s a program that Judge (Al) Davies is pretty proud of and has been pretty successful for them. That grant amount had decreased over the past few years, but we’re happy to see that moving forward.”