KOSCIUSKO —
Attala County Board of Supervisors President and District 2 Supervisor Charles Fancher gave the inside track on the county jail project to the Kosciusko Rotary Club at Rib Alley Monday.
The plans for the 100-plus bed jail on West Jefferson and West South Street in Kosciusko is projected to cost between $3.8-4 million.
“We’ve gotten started with the dirt work on our access road,” Fancher said. “We haven’t started on any of the jail work because we haven’t taken the bids. That will be later on this summer. Hopefully, there will be a ground breaking on the site early this fall.”
Fancher said the new jail would be 32,000 square feet including the sheriff’s department and jail.
After being contacted by several architects, they went with Michael LeBlanc’s firm out of Baton Rouge/Lafayette, Louisiana.
Fancher said LeBlanc is well known for his expertise in constructing jail sites. He has built prisons in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama as well as Mississippi jails in Alcorn, Chickasaw, Carroll, Issaquena, Marion and Jefferson Davis Counties.
“Our town and our community needs a good secure jail. This jail will not only be adequate in size but a lot safer,” Fancher said. “This is a state-of-the-art facility. It will look nice on the outside and nice on the inside.”
With a larger jail and being able to house more prisoners will mean changes in both the operation cost and the number of employees.
Currently, the jail operates at a rate of $1,000 a day and operates on a budget of approximately $385,000 each year.
With inflated medical and food costs, Fancher said the budget goes over each year.
In the new facility, the sheriff’s department will have to have 13-15 people to run the jail including a nurse and dietician which is required by the State of Mississippi.
The projected operating cost of the facility will be approximately $1 million each year.
Fancher said that with the McAdams Power Plant going on the tax rolls for the first time as well as money from the pipeline, this will help with the cost.
Fancher also touched on how the county would pay for the construction of the facility.
He said bonds would be issued and that a non-profit organization would be developed through North Mississippi Planning and Development District that would help us save some costs.
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Inside track given on jail
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