Commissioners start process for the sale of detention center

Commissioners came out of a lengthy executive session during their Tuesday, Aug. 25, meeting and took action to begin the process of selling about 25 acres of county land, which includes the Limestone County Detention Center.

Following the meeting, County Judge Richard Duncan explained that even though LCDC is only bringing the county a fraction of the revenue it did about a decade ago, the desire to save 140 jobs at the prison motivated the court to consider and approve a bid process that had been discussed with La Salle leadership.

“Four months ago, La Salle came out and said they were going to give a 60- day termination to all the employees and they were closing down because they couldn’t make any money out there,” Duncan said. “I was able to get with them and renegotiate once again, a contract that was not very attractive to Limestone County. Where we were making $30,000 to $40,000 a month, we’re down to making $15,000 a month. We also agreed that we would pay for any maintenance over $5,000; so we’re not making much money there, but the most important thing was saving jobs for Limestone County.”

Duncan went on to say that in his discussions with La Salle, their interest in buying and taking ownership of the prison came to light, which Duncan stated was something he felt the county ought to “consider hard.”

“As of right now, they’re buying other prisons and you’d have to think they’re going to start using those prisons for these people (inmates) because they own those. We feel like if they were to purchase LCDC, they’re going to make sure they have people (inmates) out here,” Duncan said.

“The good times were here, but the good times are no longer here for the prison – yet we don’t want to lose the jobs and we’ll do everything we can to keep the jobs,” Duncan said.

Consultation with County Attorney Herb Bristow during the executive session and once back in open session provided the court with a more clear understanding of how the county should proceed legally with the potential sale of LCDC property.

“I know the court is aware of this because we’ve been working on this for some time now, but the first step was to adopt an economicdevelopment program, which we’ve done.

“You’ve adopted an order for the county to dispose of this property by sealed-proposal process, now we’re in the next step of determining notice and dates for return proposals,” Bristow said. “It would be my recommendation that the court consider authorizing Judge Duncan with the authority to complete the proposed notice of sale of the detention center project, consistent with the guidelines of the economicdevelopment program from the job creation and retention point of view in complying with the sealed proposal process the court just adopted.

“The unknown items today, that we don’t have final information on, is that you obviously retain the services of an appraiser and one of the components of your procedure is that the court receive a valuation of those assets for the purpose of determining a minimum bid that would be in that proposal,” Bristow said.

Bristow went on to break down the statutory timelines for advertisement publication, and the court voted to approve each step of the process as proposed, perhaps most notably, adopting the economicdevelopment program portion which would ensure job retention for a majority if not all positions currently held at the prison.

The court also held a brief budget workshop, and Precinct 4 Commissioner Bobby Forest made motions to provide raises for justices of the peace and sheriff in the amounts of $3,000 each and $5,000, respectively. However, both motions died on the floor. The JP raises, which had been discussed at a prior budget workshop, but other commissioners expressed that until they were in a position to also give raises to the rest of the departments within the county, they would prefer to wait. Regarding the proposed increase in pay for the sheriff position, Precinct 1 Commissioner John McCarver noted that with additional income from the prison and his longevity, he draws a “pretty good salary for a small county sheriff.” Duncan stated that the sheriff pay rate does come in lower than other areas when not considering the supplemental income from the prison. He also reminded the court that in the proposed budget, they would be providing the Sheriff’s Office three new vehicles, pay raises for sergeants and below, and adding a jail and dispatch position; all things he considered “strong support” for LCSO.

In other business the court:

Approved the consent agenda; Adopted the Indigent

Health eligibility standards and specified procedures for eligibility and documentation in line with the state handbook;

Authorized the County Auditor’s office to publish the elected officials salaries;

Approved a salary adjustment for a jail employee as part of the 5 year step program; and

Approved the following budget transfers:

#476 - District Clerk moving $650 to the postage line from travel;

#477 - Treasurer moving $1715 to furniture and equipment from travel, for filing cabinets; and

#478 - Information Technology moving $100 to office supply from computer repairs.