By Kala Kachmar
Montgomery Advertiser
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Complaints that inmates’ families made to the Montgomery County Health Department about drainage problems and sewage smells in Kilby Correctional Facility’s K dorm have led to a plan to relocate 122 inmates to private facilities while the problem is fixed.
The move was discussed in Sept. 12 correspondences between Melanie Boggan, food and lodging supervisor for the county health department, and Henrietta Peters, the Alabama Department of Correction’s environmental supervisor.
The documents also said an architect came to Kilby in July to draw plans to rework the plumbing and rebuild the drainage system, which would also include extra sinks and showers for the dorm.
A contractor had been selected from the bids and, as of Sept. 12, paperwork was waiting on Gov. Robert Bentley’s desk to be signed, according to health department records.
“That was in September,” said Cindy Goocher, director of the environmental health division for the Montgomery County Health Department. “That was the last correspondence we had. They were getting the paperwork signed so they could begin working on the problem.”
Brian Corbett, a spokesman with the Alabama Department of Corrections, said Tuesday he would check into the situation, but had not responded by press time. It’s unclear whether the inmates have been moved or if the work, which Boggan said would take 180 days, has started.
The first complaint was made to the health department May 20, and an inspector visited Kilby on May 23.
There was less than an inch of standing water in the bathroom because the floor drain wasn’t working, according to the inspector’s report. The water was cloudy and had an odor to it, but the inspector said in the report he was unsure if the odor was sewage.
Officials at Kilby said the drain was stopped up and that they tried to open the drain unsuccessfully, the report said, adding that Peters would be checking on the problem the next day, May 24.
A second complaint made by telephone July 5 said there was a constant smell of sewage in the dorm, urinals weren’t draining properly and that sewage was backing up in the urinals.
The individual making the complaint, whose name was blacked out on the health department report, also wanted to know why the dorm was still open. A third complaint was made Sept. 12.
On July 8, Boggan contacted Peters requesting a timeline for the plan of action. According to correspondence, Peters said the problem was a drainage issue, not a sewage issue, but that it would require the floors to be torn up to get to the pipes.
Peters said it would take time to find places to safely relocate 122 inmates because the facilities are already overcrowded, according to documents.
Each jail and prison is required to be inspected annually by the county health department. The 2013 inspection at Kilby was conducted April 23, about a month before the first complaint was made.
Goocher said the annual inspection involves checking the kitchen for things such as equipment, water temperature, insects, cleanliness and anything else a commercial operation or restaurant would be checked for.
Lodging inspections include checking dorms for clean mattresses and pillows, ventilation, general cleanliness, maintenance and more, she said. But the guidelines are “general minimal guidelines” that are not state law.
Neither the county nor state health departments have any power of enforcement over jails and prisons, said Ron Dawsey, director of the Division of Food, Milk and Lodging for the Alabama Department of Health.
“Under state law, the duty of the health department is to inspect the facility and report to the authorities,” Dawsey said. In this case, the authorities would be ADOC.
In the instance of a commercial facility or restaurant, enforcement would revolve around a permit, Dawsey said. A permit can be suspended or revoked. But because there’s no permit required and because the guidelines aren’t state law, the health department has no power of enforcement.