The Polk County Board of Commissioners has called a special meeting for Tuesday, May 17 to consider purchasing 2.6 acres across from Gibson Pool on Park Street in Columbus. The property includes a two-story house and two buildings.  

Commissioners will also consider during the special meeting a project budget ordinance for a proposed new detention center and sheriff’s office.

The 2.6-acre parcel the county is considering has a county appraised value of $115,976 with the land valued at $97,000 and the buildings valued at $18,976, according to Polk County GIS.

The county owns the property across Park Street where Gibson Pool and Park are located. The pool and park parcel is 6.8 acres and the county owns another parcel on Park Street that is 2.04 acres. Duke Energy owns a 3.86-acre parcel that divides the county’s two parcels on Park Street.

It was unclear as of press time what the county intends to do with the 2.6 acres it is considering purchasing.

The county has recently been negotiating with 4-H to construct a new detention center and sheriff’s office at the 4-H property on Locust St.  

The negotiations with the 4-H Center include the county trading 6.5 acres and the former adult day center building on Carmel Lane, Columbus with the 6.5 acres of 4-H property on Locust Street in Columbus. The county has been considering giving the 4-H Center $130,000 on top of the traded building and land as well as agreeing to relocate the county cooperative extension office to the former adult day building.

The 4-H property is located adjacent to the county’s Gibson Park parcel and the Duke Energy parcel.

Commissioners decided recently they want a new detention center and sheriff’s office under contract by this November. The commissioner majority decided to finance the purchase and have said a tax increase will be necessary for the building. The estimated cost of a new detention center and sheriff’s office is $11 million, according to Moseley Architects, which the county contracted with for a jail feasibility study and the engineering of the new detention center and jail.

The $11 million estimate was based on more beds than the county is currently considering. The number of beds was discussed at one point to be 100 beds and now is likely going to be approximately 60 beds. Commissioners have not yet said how much lower the total cost estimate will be with fewer beds.

Moseley Architects has also predicted nine new officers will be needed to operate the new jail, with county manager Marche Pittman telling commissioners earlier this month that will mean an additional $500,000 a year in the budget once those officers are hired.

The county’s new jail and sheriff’s office facility will house male and female inmates, as well as juveniles. The county’s current jail, constructed in the early 1970s is a 25-bed facility and cannot house females or juveniles. The county contracts with Transylvania County mainly to house overflow inmates as well as all female and juvenile inmates.

During the county’s last meeting, commissioners agreed to not house federal inmates in the new jail.

Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. just prior to a budget workshop scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Womack building in Columbus. The county’s regular meeting previously scheduled for Monday, May 16 has been rescheduled for Monday, May 23 at 7 p.m.