Referendum on new jail may be on March ’19 ballots

By Walter Geiger

The Lamar County commission has about 90-120 days to decide whether to place a referendum for the construction of a new jail on special election ballots in March, 2019.

That information arose from a workshop the commissioners held Friday on the matter at which Corky Welch and Amy Bell of Goodwyn, Cawood and Mills were on hand.
Bell is the lead architect for the project.

County manager Bob Zellner told the commission the current jail was built in 1994 and consists of 22,413 square feet. It was targeted at a 2015 strategic planning session along with the health department as the county buildings that most needed replacement.