The Marshall County Council members considered an additional appropriation request from Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel concerning the proposed jail expansion project.
Hassel requested an additional $700,000 in order to pay RQAW for the schematic, water resource, and structural designs for the proposed jail expansion project.
Hassel commented that $500,000 was put in the fund thinking that it would cover costs, but the last two bills found that the contracted amount is up to $1.2 million. He said $311,000 has already been paid to the company. He said he currently has invoices in the amount of $241,000 and $321,000, but the requested amount in the additional appropriation request should cover the entire proposed contracted amount.
Since the proposed jail expansion project is stalled until a study into the county’s judicial system is finalized, Sheriff Hassel said there shouldn’t be additional bills for the time being.
Council member Penny Lukenbill noted that these costs typically would have been absorbed in the bond issue if the project had gone forward as scheduled. However, the commissioners put a halt to the project pending the judicial study.
The council members clarified that the commissioners unanimously signed the contract with RQAW so the county is committed to paying the costs.
The council members approved the additional appropriation as presented with a unanimous vote.
