Commissioners approve revised contract and extend due-diligence to 90 days for proposed 17-acre jail site

The Owen County Board of Commissioners accepted a revised purchase agreement for roughly 17 acres identified as a potential jail site and approved extending the due-diligence period from 30 days to 90 days to allow additional environmental, geotechnical and survey work.

Background and debate: Commissioners discussed prior land-swap ideas and allegations of private meetings relating to the purchase. Sam addressed the public directly to deny improper conduct and to explain the sequence of committee and council approvals that led to the purchase consideration. He told the audience the property is west of the Walmart and that the board has been pursuing a site for years. Sam told the board he had asked the county attorney to review the contract.

Seller and agent confirmation: Tilden Keith, the agent on the matter, confirmed the sellers are willing to sell to the board and acknowledged the only substantive change in the new contract was the longer due-diligence window; when asked he stated simply, “It’s 90 days.”

Board action: A commissioner moved to accept the contract as amended (changing the 30-day due-diligence/null-and-void term to 90 days) and the motion was seconded and approved. Commissioners instructed staff to sign the legal copy, get seller signatures by the stated deadline, and return originals to the auditor for recordkeeping and public notification.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the site gains approximately seven additional acres for the jail project and gives options to relocate other county facilities; the board also emphasized this is a continuation of an ongoing, multi-year effort to replace or expand the county correctional facility.

Next steps: The county attorney will finalize the signed contract and staff will begin surveys, environmental and geothermal studies under the extended 90-day timeline; the jail committee will meet to review finances and next procurement steps.