Grant funds may defray $122K expense

Covington County EMA Director Susan Harris is asking the commission to move her offices and the county’s emergency operations center (EOC) from the county administrative building to town.

Harris presented an outline of her request to commissioners in a workshop meeting Monday night, asking commissioners to allow the department to relocate in a building adjacent to the courthouse located at 110 Crescent St. and currently used for storage.

Harris said for the most part, the building is not being used.

“It would be an outstanding facility for us,” she said, adding that she has previously expressed concerns about the safety of the administration building in a storm, as well as security in the building.

“The walls are 8-inches thick,” she said. “It’s well-built, and would be perfect for our EOC.”

Harris presented a detailed work to be done at the facility, including an estimated $66,500 to upgrade the building, an an additional $55,500 to upgrade equipment for the EMA facility. Of that, she said, she believes $40,500 could be funded with grant funds.

In a previous meeting with county department heads and representatives of all of the offices currently housed in the courthouse in which the need for additional space was discussed, Harris was the only person who expressed an interest in moving. Probations and parole officers in particular expressed a need for additional space, but said they often provide back-up security in the courtroom, which they deemed more important than moving.

Commission Chairman Bill Godwin asked Harris what she proposed doing with the items currently stored in the building.

Harris suggested that those files be moved to the basement of the courthouse where they could be accessible to courthouse employees, and suggested that the driver’s license office be moved to the county administration building.

Harris said she cannot apply for the grant funds – which will be announced in the summer but won’t be available until the fall – without knowing she has commissioners’ approval. Godwin countered that he would hate for the office to be moved until monies for it can be secured.

The question is expected to be on the commissioners’ agenda at Wednesday’s regular meeting.

In other business, the commission:

• Heard a request from CATS director Krystal Lee to hire a temporary employee, as two employees currently are out on medical leave Commissioners asked that she determine if there is money in her budget that could be moved to cover the projected additional payroll costs.