County moves ahead with new office building
Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors member Matt Kuhn put it succinctly: The county has gone too far to turn back.
So this past Monday morning, the board voted 3-2 to award a contract for $156,000 to Matt Construction to turn what was once the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home into a county office building that will eventually house the county attorney and Emergency Management Agency offices.
The vote came after Supervisor Jacob Hackman brought up his concerns about the county having enough money to pay for the project and the costs that the county will incur after the offices are moved from a rented location on North Linn Avenue to the building that is located at 516 S. Linn Ave.
“I don’t think there’s enough in the capital fund,” Hackman said, “at least not to cover the costs of this project. … I don’t think we’ve ever set aside the $600,000 [budgeted for the project].”
He also brought up concerns about the fact that the bid from Matt Construction does not include fixtures like desks, window shades and the like. And he asked his fellow supervisors if the county will be willing to take on the extra maintenance costs the building would create?
— For more on this story, see either the Jan. 19 Tribune or Jan. 21 Reporter