County Commission rejects bids for expanding jail

Four bids received came in above project budget

The Covington County Commission rejected four bids relating to a jail expansion project during a special called meeting on Wednesday, August 7.

The county had opened bidding for a new jail addition and renovations to the current facility last week. The proposal called for the addition of a medical wing at the jail, office space, and general cosmetic updates to the facility.

“We appreciate all of the bidders on this project, especially the two lowest bidders who are local to Covington County. However, the commission’s budget for this project was between $3.5 to 4.5 million,” Chairman Greg White said.

The two lowest bids were from Wyatt Sasser Construction at approximately $5.3 million and Covington Contracting at $5.7 million. Whaley Construction Company bid approximately $5.88 million, while Matthes Parker bid $5.89 million.

“These bids came in well over the $1.5 million the commission had expected. This is way over our budget and was not anticipated with our funding. I make a motion we reject all four bids,” Dist. 2 Commissioner Michael Smith said.

“We are all on the same page about these bids being more than we were expecting. I don’t see us doing this project at the present time,” Dist. 1 Commissioner Kenneth Northey added.

Dist. 3 Commissioner Lynne Holmes said she felt work was still needed at the jail.

“We are all aware of the current situation our jail is in. It would be wise to spend that money towards [the current jail] rather than the construction of [a new] building,” Holmes said.

Sheriff Blake Turman said the county is in the process of looking at other options.

“We are already looking at a plan B for the jail. Hopefully, within the near future, we can make the repairs needed and adjustments in the facility. I look forward to working with the commission to make that happen,” Turman said.

According to White, the commission has approximately $3.5 to $4.5 million in ARPA funds remaining.

“The intent was to fund this project with those funds. We will look at other ways to re-classify that money. One thing we are looking at doing is making improvements to have handicapped parking at the courthouse,” White said.

In other business, the commission approved the transfer of a 2023 Ford F-150 police responder from the jail to the Covington County Sheriff’s Office. This vehicle was approved for the jail’s use at a purchase price of nearly $47,400 at a previous meeting. Turman said the vehicle met a need at the time but was no longer needed at the jail.

“This vehicle will be added to our fleet and used as a regular patrol vehicle. While it does not increase our fleet, we do have some vehicles that are at the end of life. It will replace a vehicle that we need to roll off and be dismantled. We should have that vehicle ready to be declared as surplus at the next meeting,” Turman said.

The commission held a budget workshop following the meeting where several county department heads presented and discussed new budgets for the coming year. No action was taken by the commission at this workshop.

The next regular scheduled meeting of the Covington County Commission will be held Tuesday, August 13, at 9 a.m., at the Covington County Administration Building. The public is invited to attend.