WALTHALL —Information about the Webster County Detention Center and Command Center to be built here was presented during a public hearing Monday, March 18.
The hearing was held during a recessed meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Planner George Crawford of the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District provided information along with representatives from Belinda Stewart Architects.
Crawford said a congressional spending grant for the $4.8 million project is being directed through the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Administration. The facility will be built on the south side of the Courthouse.
Belinda Stewart, Craig Bjorgum and Cord Crenshaw of the architectural firm provided these specifics accompanied by drawings:
The facility will house offices for the Sheriff’s Department, offices for Justice Court clerks and two judges plus a courtroom (to be relocated from Eupora), E-911 Center (to be relocated from Mathiston), a command center for use in emergencies with a training room, and a dorm-style jail with eight male beds and four female bunks. Bjorgum said space has been allowed for expansion that would double the size the detention facility if ever needed.
There will be a fenced-in exercise yard for inmates and a separate sally port to provide a secure entranceway for law enforcement vehicles to unload inmates.
Application has also been made for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to harden the exterior doors, windows and roof of the public part of the building so it can serve as a storm shelter. Undersheriff Tim Robinson was optimistic that these funds will be awarded, which would be in the amount of $3.1 million in addition to the other grant.
A storage building that will be divided into four sections will be located on the south end of the new facility.
When asked about a possible groundbreaking date, Stewart estimated late summer but said it depends on the FEMA funding. Bjorgum said the schematic design is 90% complete.
Robinson said the overall project will be a challenge to carry out but added, “This is an opportunity Webster County has never had.”
The hearing was closed with no comments from the public.
