(Story courtesy of WVLT News)

Knoxville, TN (WVLT) Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs touched on the county’s juvenile detention center during his weekly update Friday, outlining his hopes for immediate next steps in the county’s takeover.

The latest shakeup at the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center came to light at the end of May, when Jacobs said he’d learned the center’s director, Richard L. Bean, had fired two employees who had tried to report problems to the state.

“Obviously this is a very serious matter, compounded by the fact that one of the employees is the center’s only nurse,” Jacobs said.

The mayor has been campaigning for a county takeover at the juvenile center, specifically putting it in the hands of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. In Friday’s update, Jacobs said he had proposed an emergency ordinance for the Knox County Commission to discuss.

That ordinance would dissolve the current leadership at the center and replace it with a committee made up of four commissioners and one juvenile court appointee. That would be a temporary system, the mayor said, while the sheriff’s office prepares to take over permanently.

“I would like to thank Mr. Bean for his decades of service to Knox County youth,” Jacobs said. “Despite recent issues, he laid a solid foundation from which to build. We should remember that this is a tough space. Compared to similar facilities around the state, ours is one of the better ones. Also, thank you to Sheriff Tom Spangler for taking on this challenge. The sheriff is under no constitutional obligation to do this. He’s doing it for the good of our community, and I appreciate that more than I can say.”

That being said, some have been outspoken against the sheriff’s office takeover. Specifically, state lawmakers who spoke to WVLT like Rep. Gloria Johnson.

The plans were outlined in full in a letter sent to the county commission, which will meet Monday. You can read that here.