County judge outlines projects from community center to industrial park at Wilmore forum

David West, Jessman County judge-executive, told a joint gathering of city and county officials and residents in Wilmore that the county is advancing multiple community projects, including a planned community center, industrial development and expanded detention-center programming.

West said the county purchased about 111 acres at John Priest Park for a community center and associated amenities, and that work on the park and a turf field is underway. "We purchased 111 Acres of John Priest park . . . that's where the community center will be," he said as he outlined plans for walking trails and fishing areas alongside recreation fields.

Why it matters: the county said the projects are intended to serve the region and support economic growth without raising taxes. West and county economic-development representatives reported that phase three of a local industrial park recently closed (about 91 acres) and that two development proposals combined could create roughly 275 jobs in the area.

West also described recent public-safety facility investments and revenue strategies for the county jail. He said the sheriff's office has opened a new state-of-the-art facility on Main Street, deployed body-worn cameras, and added K-9 units and new training capacity. "We have arrangements with Gardner County and Mercer County to house some of their inmates that will get us about a million dollars a year in funding for our Detention Center," he said.

The judge-executive highlighted inmate programming at the detention center — a garden program and online courses to support GED completion and job training — and said the county is hiring a reentry coordinator whose salary will be paid with opioid-settlement funds. "We'll be utilizing opioid settlement money for that so again no taxpayer money," West said.

The session also covered capital projects with longer timelines: West outlined demolition, geotechnical work and the multiple state review and bid packages required for a new Justice Center downtown. He cautioned that state-level review processes can delay construction, and said a perfect timetable would put groundbreaking in late September or October, "if everything goes perfectly."

What happens next: West asked local legislative bodies to consider the committee's planning work and to return to adopt goals and objectives for the comprehensive-plan update at future meetings. No formal vote was taken at the Wilmore meeting.

(Reporting based on remarks by David West and county staff at the Wilmore municipal meeting.)