The Madison County Commissioners have authorized the possible use of eminent domain to acquire land for a new county jail.
The commissioners Tuesday voted to authorize County Attorney Jeff Graham to file a lawsuit to obtain the proposed jail site in Anderson.
Last month the commissioners voted to approve the conceptual drawing for the new facility provided by Eric Weflen with RQAW architecture, headquartered in Fishers.
The 43-acre site is owned by Meijer, which at one time considered opening a second store in Anderson. The property is located on Broadway behind the Captain D’s restaurant.
Graham said the county continues to negotiate with the property owner and that the county legally can offer to purchase the property for the average of two certified appraisals.
Graham said the county has completed an appraisal and Meijer is expected to have an appraisal done in the near future.
“We’re having excellent communication with the property owners,” he said.
The commissioners set March 31 as the date to receive proposals on the hiring of a construction manager for the jail project.
As proposed, one pod will house 237 inmates and the second would house 139 with space allocated for expansion.
There are rooms for the medical staff, classrooms and isolation rooms.
The Commissioners voted to approve $1,738,255 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds for four county departments involved with the criminal justice system.
The Madison County Council is expected to vote on the request next Tuesday.
Commissioner Olivia Pratt made a motion to have any employees hired under the proposals to be contract employees.
Pratt said she was concerned about the positions being funded when the federal dollars are depleted.
The four proposals include $727,943 submitted by Madison County Community Corrections, Sheriff’s Department, Juvenile Detention and Central Dispatch to replace and assign all correctional officers with a portable walkie talkie radio.
The Madison County Prosecutor’s office request for $672,750 to modernize the city court systems in Anderson and Elwood in the handling of misdemeanor cases and infractions.
The request is to hire a prosecutor and legal secretary for three years to eliminate a backlog in the cases in the two city courts.
The office was also approved for $112,560 to digitize court records and to decrease preparation time by prosecutors to prepare for cases.
Also approved was the request of Chief Public Defender Bryan Williams for $225,000 for three years for the hiring of a public defender in Madison Superior Court 2 to handle a backlog of Children in Need of Services cases.