Commission reviews jail maintenance quote and approves several budget amendments

Cheatham County commissioners on Nov. 17 took several budget votes and discussed preventive maintenance for the county’s new jail.

Budget votes: The commission approved multiple budget amendments and transfers across county general, jail and capital-project funds. Several roll-call tallies were recorded (examples in the meeting packet included votes recorded as 5‑0 on specific smaller items and later 11‑0 on larger transfers). One recorded transfer moved $1,633,018 into jail fund capital projects with a funding source listed as county general fund balance; roll calls on budget items were recorded as carrying by majority or unanimous tallies as noted in the meeting record.

Jail maintenance quote: Staff presented a preventive‑maintenance proposal from Lee Company for the new jail, quoting an annual price of $45,936 to provide scheduled inspections and routine maintenance (quarterly/biannual/annual) for HVAC and associated systems identified in the facility (including multiple water source heat pumps, makeup-air units, split air units, exhaust fans, boilers and a cooling tower). Staff described the quote as preventive maintenance complementary to warranty coverage and county maintenance staff; several commissioners discussed whether to contract externally or maintain responsibility internally and requested more firm estimates. The mayor and staff indicated the item need not be decided tonight and will return on the December agenda, with the jail committee meeting expected to review final numbers beforehand.

Next steps: Budget amendments are enacted per roll-call; staff will circulate the full Lee Company quote and the jail committee will meet before the December workshop to refine scope and costs. The preventive‑maintenance contract was not awarded at the Nov. 17 meeting and will be considered in the next cycle.