Oconee County Commissioners Award Bid For Demolition Of Old Jail

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night awarded a bid of $92,000 to Complete Demolition Services LLC of Carrollton for demolition of the Old Jail located behind the Courthouse in Watkinsville.

Commissioner William “Bubber” Wilkes cast the sole negative vote on the contract after Commission Chair John Daniell argued that expansion of the Courthouse into the space now occupied by the unused jail will provide for the needs of court services to at least 2050.

Commissioners Mark Thomas and Chuck Horton expressed regrets about destruction of the jail, built in 1905, but said it was necessary to allow for construction of a sally port, or a controlled, secure entranceway, for the Sheriff to move prisoners into and out of the jail.

In other action, the Board turned down a request by a developer of a subdivision on Malcom Bridge Road in the northwest of the county to be allowed to build houses on elevated slabs and a request by a landowner in the far south of the county to subdivide his property, which is on a gravel road.

The Board also heard a financial update for the first quarter of the 2018 Fiscal Year that included details on spending of revenue from the county’s three active Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax initiatives.

For more on the story and for an embedded video of the BOC meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Commissioner Mark Thomas.