AUGUSTA — Kennebec County is seeking a new chief jail administrator.

Capt. Marsha Alexander has resigned after almost 19 years at the jail, the last six as the top official at the jail.

Before that she was assistant jail administrator and earlier programs director.

Alexander’s last day on the job was Thursday.

Kennebec County Administrator Robert Devlin said Monday the county is advertising for a replacement for her.

He also said he understood Alexander would be taking a job working for the state in the Bureau of General Services.

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“I am very excited for a new challenge and this opportunity at the state level,” Alexander said on Monday. “I have been very fortunate for all the blessings afforded to me during my tenure at Kennebec. I am very grateful for being under the leadership of (former) Sheriff Randall Liberty and (former) Capt. Richard Wurpel. I leave with life long relationships and wonderful memories. I am very fortunate to have worked with so many professional and dedicated individuals at Kennebec.”

Wurpel, who retired in 2011 as jail administrator, has returned to the post in the interim.

An ad for the job, posted on the Maine Sheriffs’ Association website, says the Kennebec jail administrator is responsible for managing a 174-bed facility, directing a total of 90 uniform and civilian employees and preparing an annual budget of more than $7.5 million.

The jail also works with such programs as the Criminogenic Addiction Recovery Academy, which addresses “criminal thinking” and substance addiction, and the Co-occurring Disorders and Veterans Court, a program that admits defendants who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and substance abuse problems. The programs are aimed at treatment and education that will help inmates become productive members of society once they leave the jail.

The jail, formally known as the Kennebec County Correctional Facility, on State Street in Augusta is currently undergoing an expansion that will convert a recreation space into a two-story housing unit for 21 inmates.

The pay range for jail administrator is $58,000-$67,000. The post requires completion of the Basic Corrections Course from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy among other things.

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In her letter of resignation, addressed both to Sheriff Ken Mason and Assistant County Administrator Terry York, Alexander wrote: “I leave knowing that I have accomplished all of the goals and aspirations that I set for myself at this agency back when I was hired in 1998.”

She praised fellow employees at the jail, in the other departments run by the sheriff, and in the county administrative office as well as the commissioners.

“I like to say I truly grew up at Kennebec as it has not been just a place of employment or just a job,” she wrote. “For many years, this agency and family have been my life.”

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams

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