Commission reaffirms jail construction awards and opens possibility of selling county land to cover payment gap

Choctaw County commissioners reaffirmed their prior award of the county jail construction contracts and authorized assignment of the contracts to the Choctaw County Building Authority, with county attorney final review requested; they also discussed and acted on options to cover an estimated annual shortfall tied to jail payments.

The commission voted to approve a resolution reaffirming the award of the jail construction contract to Beasley Construction and modular jail units to Kendall Corporation, and to authorize the contracts' assignment to the Choctaw County Building Authority; the county attorney said he still had a couple of contract details to clear up and recommended the resolution be approved subject to his final review. The motion carried on a voice vote.

Separately, commissioners reviewed a projected annual gap of about $55,000 between annual jail payments and expected SSUT revenue and discussed options to balance the shortfall, including raising taxes, cutting costs or selling assets. The commission voted to accept proposals for the sale of approximately 42 acres of county land south of Highway 10 (described in the meeting by section, township and range) adjacent to the old TAMCO property; commissioners noted any sale would include guidelines to protect existing uses (for example, allowing approved rodeo and motorcycle events) and that accepting proposals does not commit the county to a sale.

Commissioners said proceeds from a sale could reduce annual debt service by an estimated $19,000 annually depending on sale price and that further steps would follow depending on proposal outcomes. The commission approved accepting proposals by voice vote.