News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Jackson County has awarded a bid to replace all HVAC equipment and install an air purification system at the County Jail.
Mayor Randy Heady said the low bid came in at some $122,000, slightly under budget. He said the HVAC equipment is original to the jail that opened in 2007.
“Any HVAC equipment at 15 years old, that’s about the life of it, if you get 15 to 20, 25, is extra unusual,” Heady said “So a lot of the equipment is starting to break down. We actually had to replace a couple of those units years prior just because at the 10-year mark they just failed.”
Heady said the air purification system removes up to 98 percent of airborne particles, including COVID-19. He said funding for the work comes from ARP money and a grant through the Department of Health.
Heady said that both bids came in line with what the county had budgeted. However, they are more expensive than what he had budgeted for the project originally in December.
“With the cost of everything going, the cost of labor is up, the cost of equipment is up, everything is raised in costs lately, so I went ahead and anticipated some increase and went and put some fluff in there when we applied for the grant to make sure,” Heady said. “(…) I felt really comfortable with what we had, I was not surprised.”
Heady said that the county worked with the Sheriff’s Department to apply for the grant. He said there are other components of the grant that the county will put out to bid later.
