By AMBER DILLEY
GLASGOW — The Barren County Fiscal Court voted to have a piece of property appraised in the IDEA Park on Prestwick Drive for the new Barren County Correction Center.
The court met in a special-called closed meeting Thursday evening to discuss the matter.
Before going into closed session, Magistrate Carl Dickerson asked Barren County Judge-Executive Davie Greer why the court was going into closed session and if the public would be made aware of the location.
The court was to discuss the price of the property, which under KRS 61.810(1)(b) can be done in closed session, Greer said.
Dickerson voted no when the court voted to go into closed session
Upon entering open session, the court decided with a 5-2 margin to get the property appraised.
Magistrates Ricky Spillman and Carl Dickerson voted no. Magistrate Howard Bowman Jr. was not present. Dickerson said he voted against getting the property appraised because he “is still against building a new jail, period.”
Spillman was not available for comment at press time.
The court has had to choose a new location for the new jail after the first proposed spot, on South Lewis Street, was met with negative response from the community.
Greer said the county has to have the property appraised pursuant to KRS 99.675.
“We’re still having that property appraised,” she said. “And unless we can meet an agreement on the price we won’t be buying it.”
The court will have to get the property on Prestwick Drive appraised and then, Greer said there will be a public hearing regarding the new location.
The court voted to build a new county jail in December with magistrates Spillman, Dickerson and Tommy Matthews voting no because they wanted to renovate the current jail site on Ford Drive.
The push to do something about the more than 30-year-old building came from the Kentucky Department of Corrections after the department discovered the smoke evacuation system violated state’s requirements and fire codes were in need of upgrades. The jail also had a number of infrastructure issues including the water and electrical systems. The county had been debating the need for a new jail for years prior to the state’s threat to close the facility.
The KDC has shut down one section of the jail and mandated the rest of the jail get new smoke alarms.
The alarms have been replaced, but the county only has about two years before the state would potentially close the jail.
