Commissioners, sheriff split cost of new jail roof

May 31—County commissioners and Sheriff Chris Morris have agreed to split the cost for a new $1.7 million roofing project at the Pittsburg County Justice Center, which includes the Pittsburg County Jail.

Morris and the commissioners agreed to each pay half of the project's cost, which totals $1,719,622.

That means the county commissioners and the sheriff's office will each will pay $859,811 for their part of the roofing project, said County Clerk Hope Trammell.

Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve one of the options for the roof replacement as presented by Josh Rhodes with the Garland Co. Inc.

Morris said after the meeting it means a lot to get a new roof for the Justice Center, which he said has lots of leaks.

He noted that people are inside the facility 24-hours a day and deserve to have a roof over their heads that doesn't leak. Inmates live in the facility, he noted.

County Commission Chairman/District 1 Commissioner Charlie Rogers said the county commissioners plan to pay their part of the project with money allocated to the county the through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, also known as ARPA.

"It needs to be done and we've got the ARPA money to use it now," Rogers said.

District 2 Commissioner Kevin Smith said it's best to do the jail reroofing project at this time.

"Down the road, it's going to cost a lot more," Smith said. He too said it's a good time to do the repairs, with ARPA funds available.

District 3 Commissioner Ross Selman agreed now is the time for a reroofing project at the facility.

"They don't need to have a leaking roof," Selman said.

Smith noted the leaking roof at the building could lead to more issues.

"Mold would be another problem down the road," said Smith.

Morris told the News-Capital after the meeting he plans to pay his portion through money he has raised in several ways including holding inmates for other facilities and through commissary sales.

Not all of the Justice Center is included in the project, with an exception being the front part of the Justice Center, which houses the sheriff's office, known as Section A under the study submitted by the Garland Company.

Sections B, C and D, which includes the jail area, will be reroofed, according to the agreement.

"They're going to replace the whole roofing system on sections B, C and D," Trammell said.

Section B covers 8,200 square feet; Section C covers 13,500 square feet and Section D covers another 11,200 square feet.

That brings the total amount of square footage to be reroofed to 32,900 square feet. Through the agreement, the Garland Co. is to handle the entire project, including hiring any needed subcontractors and taking care of all the required inspections, Smith said.

Trammell said the commissioners plan to pay their $859,811 portion of the project with a single down payment.

The county plans to finance the other $859,811 the sheriff's office will owe for the project.

By making the one-half down payment upfront, the amount of interest the sheriff's office will be charged for making payments for the other half will be reduced, county officials said.

The exact amount will be determined when the agreement is finalized, they said.