The last time they tried advertising for bids the county paid over $20,000 for the experience and got bids totaling $5.7 million on a project originally billed as a $3.8 million build.

This week the fiscal court again approved advertising for bids on the construction of an 80-bed jail.

County Judge Mickey Garner told the magistrates that the construction management firm, architect and the low bidders from the previous round had been working together and have made extensive changes. He said the estimated cost for the present design is $4.5 million.

Magistrates asked if the new design still conformed to state requirements, and they were told that Department of Criminal Justice officials have given verbal approval to the design.

They also questioned the cost of the bid process this time, and they were told that there would be some cost cutting measures in place.

Wendell Emerson, with the project's bonding agent Ross Sinclair & Associates, told the court that of the $300,000 borrowed on a short term note to begin the project $7,000 remains.

There were not any no votes as the court approved advertising again for bids for construction of a new county jail.

Emerson has told the court that bond payments on such a build are expected to be at least $400,000 per year which does not include the cost of operating the facility.

Also approved was an $8,000 bill for insurance on the construction of the new Russell County Judicial Center in downtown Jamestown. Magistrate Steve Bledsoe was the only vote in opposition.

He had questioned why the board in charge of that project was not footing the bill for insurance on it. Garner said the Russell County Property Development Board would compensate the court for the expenditure.

Also approved was $400 to fix another of the trucks at the road department. Garner said the truck in question has 353,000 miles on it. The repair is to replace a controller on the diesel injector pump, rather than replacing the pump at a cost of $1,200.

Magistrate Greg Popplewell voted no on that expenditure.

The court also approved the first reading of an ordinance regarding animals seized in cruelty cases. The court was told that such cases, when contested in the courts, can take a great deal of time to resolve and can cost the shelter, and thereby the county, a lot of money.

The ordinance would require those whose animals are seized to either sign over the animals to the shelter for adoption or to post a bond every 30 days to pay for the upkeep and vet bills of the animals.