News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Clay County has secured a $7.5 million USDA loan for constructing a new jail.
Mayor Dale Reagan said the next step involves the approval of an AIA contract with Knoxville-based Cope and Associates.
“Once we do sign off of this original AIA contract, they’ve (cope) already got the plans to start working on,” Reagan said. “That process will probably take anywhere from 12 to 14 months. It’s a long drawn out process and then you go into the bidding process, which takes a while.”
County Commissioners still need to decide exactly how they will pay for a new jail. Reagan said the current jail has an operating budget totaling $450,000 to $500,000 a year.
“We’re looking at an increase of about $1.1 million, so we’ve got to come up with some funding to take care of that, as well as the debt,” Reagan said. “The debt on that loan is going to be about $350,000 a year. I know that county commission is looking at an increase in the wheel tax to cover that. We’ve got a firm that is helping us with the financials on it.”
The proposed site for the new jail sits along Highway 53 across from Buford Drive.
