Pickett Co. Rejects Measure To Purchase Jail Property

The Pickett County Commission voted down a motion Monday night to purchase property for the new jail.

County Executive Richard Daniel said it’s another stall that only hurts the county.

“Our 12 county commissioners know that this situation can’t go on and why four would vote no…. I don’t understand that,” Daniel said. “All this is doing is delaying the inevitable and each delay we have the cost of construction goes up.”

One of the reasons the commission rejected the motion was because of a potential conflict of interest. Some commissioners claimed that Commissioners Jimmy Richardson and Brad Richardson owned a portion of that property.

A conflict of interest in the minds of commissioners who voted no, but Daniel said he disagrees.

“We talked to CTAS legal department and they tell us no because they do not have direct ownership in that property,” Daniel said. “They assured us that there was no conflict of interest here.”

Daniel said Jimmy Richardson’s mother is a part owner of the property, but they have agreed to donate it to the county.

Two commissioners did not show up for Monday’s meeting and Daniel said he plans to call a special called meeting on October 5th to address the jail.

The state put the jail on fire watch last year and threatened to close it down if Pickett County didn’t address the flaws or build a new jail.