Morrow County commissioners approve submission checklist for Lamar County jail expansion; project manager outlines review timeline

Morrow County commissioners voted to authorize the chairman to sign the Phase 1 submission checklist for the Lamar County Jail expansion and renovation, the board said during a regular meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

The checklist will trigger a formal review and a meeting with the outside reviewing board, county project manager Becker said. "They'll set up the time to go down. We'll have to have, of course, the share. Our job administrator is high and then, myself as project manager, and we would prefer to have at least 1 commissioner," Becker said, describing who would attend the review. "It's about 6 to 10 week process," he added.

Becker told commissioners the reviewing body had recently closed a grant or application round and was debating scheduling, so the county might not see a meeting date until April. "There's very good chance that we might not see an appointment until April," he said.

Becker also said the jail must remain open and operational during work and that further site visits and technical reviews (lighting, electrical, and other "nuts and bolts") would follow the initial review. Commissioners approved the chairman signing the checklist so the application could proceed to the next step.

The action was recorded as an approval for the chairman to sign the submission checklist for Phase 1 of the Lamar County Jail expansion and renovation; the motion carried on a unanimous roll call of commissioners present.