Knox County Jail getting new roof by fall

Despite a rough patch of weather, Knox County Detention Center construction is still on schedule and should have a roof in the upcoming months.

“Once we get under roof, the weather won’t affect us anymore. Everything’s looking good. I think last month we had just started the walls…Four weeks later, you can really see the progress,” said Doug Smith with Codell Construction at the May 23 Fiscal Court meeting.

Doug gave a quick update on where the overall project stands, reporting all footers are in now and the team lacks two small concrete pours to finishing the slab. One of those areas is in the kitchen, which was delayed due to design changes, and the other is in the front area. All back-area load bearing walls are done and approximately one-third are finished toward the front.

“The Lord’s blessed us with good weather this month. We haven’t had a weather day since the end of April. We’ve made good progress,” continued Smith.

The kitchen design delay was also discussed more in-depth during the meeting, with Smith reporting that two pieces of kitchen equipment required a higher amperage than was initially thought and designed for. This required some electrical changes in the area and resulted in a change order in the amount of $1,106.50 from Elliott Contracting, which the court approved.

“What you see here is the difference for the larger breakers and the larger wiring conduits to run those two pieces of equipment. Basically, we went from 115 amps to 59 amps, so it required quite a bit of electrical change,” explained Smith.

The court also approved a Codell pay estimate for $646,551.52 for the detention center.

Judge-Executive J.M. Hall held the first reading of 2018-19 budget, which sets total budgeted appropriations at $13,003,332. The budget breaks down as follows:

• Total General: $3,543,525
• Total Road: $3,315,807
• Total Jail: $2,837,000
• Total Local Gov. Economic Assistance Fund: $1,331,933
• Total Occupational License: $738,565
• Total 911: $726,500
• Total Hospital: $59,307
• SEKRB Park: $448,729
• LEPC: $1,966

Also on the agenda was a motion to approve the relocation of three isolated and abandoned graves in the Southeast Kentucky Business Park on the bypass to make room for a new building. These graves will be relocated in Hart Cemetery.