One year ago this month, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery and SouthBuild Team representatives unveiled a proposal to fund an expansion of the Baxter County Detention Center. Wednesday, in the same courtroom where Sheriff Montgomery made the proposal, bids were opened on the estimated $4.2 million project voters overwhelmingly approved in September last year.The project broke down into 19 bid packages representing the various construction components needed for the expansion. From those 19 areas, 35 bids were opened and announced by SouthBuild Team Construction Manager Don Abernathy. SouthBuild Team is a Tennessee-based construction group especially targeted toward jail projects.
Opening of the bids took about 40 minutes, after which it was announced they would be taken under advisement for 10 days before being awarded.
While it’s unknown how those bids will fit into the proposal, Sheriff Montgomery said afterwards, he remains optimistic, while anxious and hopeful, the bids will come in under SouthBuild’s estimated costs.
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One year ago when Montgomery rolled out the expansion proposal, he told those on hand the detention center is 15 years old, no longer the “new jail,” and it is in desperate need of expansion due to overcrowding and safety concerns.
The jail opened in 2004 with a capacity of 33 beds. The current jail has 101.
Montgomery said in 2017, according to experts, a county should consider expansion when a jail operates at 80 percent capacity or above for a period of two years.
The overcrowding Montgomery described last year is still an issue today.
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Construction of the jail expansion will be funded by a one percent sales tax collected for six months. Collection began on April 1st and will run through September 30th. An ongoing one-quarter of one percent sales and use tax for continued jail operation expenses will begin January 1st, 2019.
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