The new building that will be the future location of the Fayette County Prosecutor’s Office is expected to be completed this fall, according to Fayette County Commissioner Jim Garland.
The new building is planned to be located on Market Street, to the left of the Fayette County Court House where there is currently a county-owned parking lot.
Plans for the new building are for it to include seven offices, two work areas and a brick exterior. The current construction plan has the building listed as 66-by-60 square feet.
According to Garland, there are currently no special plans for the landscaping of the lot.
The construction of the building has not begun yet but can be bid on — bids for the construction of the building will be received on April 18 at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ office. The approximate estimate for the project is $775,000.
As previously reported, the project will be payed for using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
The Fayette County Prosecutor’s Office is currently located inside the Fayette County Court House. According to minutes from a prior commissioners’ meeting, the offices were originally inhabited in the 1890s, and the space is unable to be physically altered to accommodate current health and safety requirements caused by the pandemic without “extreme and unreasonable restrictions” on the prosecuting attorney and the personal interaction required by law enforcement, judges, witnesses, and the general public.
As the ARPA funds are meant to be used for handling consequences of the pandemic, it can be reasoned the space is needed to allow better spacing for the prosecutor’s office as well as other offices within the Court House.
Follow the Record-Herald for more information on this project as it progresses.
Reach journalist Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.
