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Holmes County commissioners authorize Liberty Partners to manage jail expansion funds as lawmakers include $1M in budgets
Summary
The Holmes County board authorized Liberty Partners to administer state grant funds for a planned jail expansion and discussed recent legislative movement that shows roughly $1 million proposed on both House and Senate sides; commissioners also directed staff to pursue design and procurement steps.
The Holmes County Board of County Commissioners voted to authorize Liberty Partners to manage state grant funding for a planned jail expansion and to begin procurement for design work.
The request came from a county official (speaker 14), who said the county is "ready to try to get the ball rolling" on expansion efforts and described Liberty Partners' prior work on county projects. "They've gone over 5 and a half million dollars to the county by helping us through Tallahassee to bring money for projects," the presenter said, urging the board to permit the firm to manage the new project.
County staff updated commissioners on the legislative outlook, saying both the House and Senate budget proposals include about $1,000,000 for the project despite an original $2,000,000 request. "There is funding in both the House incentive proposal for the jail expansion in the amount of $1,000,000," a staff representative (speaker 10) told the board, adding that the house and senate converged on the amount even if their broader plans differ.
The board moved and seconded a motion to let Liberty Partners handle grant administration and to proceed with design procurement and an RFP process for architects. Commissioners discussed project cost uncertainty and pledged regular updates: staff said they would provide biweekly and monthly project updates and pursue additional funding if necessary.
The vote was taken by voice; the motion advanced. The board did not set a final contract at the meeting and asked staff to return with procurement materials and cost estimates.
The next procedural steps are design procurement and continued budget negotiations; staff said they would report back to the commission as the legislative session and grant rules evolve.
