Upgrade to Provide More Space For Montgomery Co. Sheriff, E911

A much-needed upgrade to the building housing both the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and E911 located at 208 East Broad Street in Mount Vernon will provide more space for employees to perform their required duties. At the present time, the Sheriff’s Office staff and E911 staff all work and share the same space designed solely for the Sheriff’s Office, according to County Manager Brandon Braddy.

As requirements and needs grew, equipment and records have been moved to make room for staff needing office space. “The need to renovate and increase space became very evident during the pandemic as the county’s public safety staff was not able to social distance, increasing their risk of contracting COVID-19. The space in the lobby is so small it only allowed for one member of the public to enter the building during the pandemic,” Braddy explained.

The new additions and modifications to the public safety building will provide a larger lobby for the public, a new room for the county’s E911 call center, a meeting/training room and a sallyport. Modifying some of the existing building will also provide additional space for storage, evidence, armory and additional offices for deputies and investigators.

No debt will be incurred for this project. The project will be funded with federal and local funds. The Commissioners allocated $531,553 of the County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project. The balance of $661,267 will be funded with capital project funds set aside from the County’s General Fund from Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022.

During the Commissioners’ regular meeting on Monday, December 12, they awarded a construction contract to C. Merrill Construction, LLC, of Statesboro for additions and modifications to the Sheriff’s Office. The bid opening for the project was held on November 15. C. Merrill Construction, LLC, was the lowest bidder with an original bid of $1,396,000. To lower overall costs, some of the site work will be performed by the County, reducing the contract amount to $1,192,820, saving the County $203,180.

The Commissioners hired SP Design Group of Macon as the architectural firm for this project. SP Design Group’s plan proposed 3,314 square feet in new additions along with 2,207 square feet of modifications to the existing building.

“This project has been long overdue for the Sheriff’s Office,” said Chairman Leland Adams. “The Sheriff’s Office and E911 staff have been working in extremely tight conditions for a great deal of time. The Sheriff’s Office building was never designed to house E911 and the Sheriff’s Office. The Commissioners and I are thankful our public safety services will have ample space to perform their jobs.”

Sheriff Doug Maybin said, ' We are excited to see the expansion of the Sheriff 's Office come to be. The expansion not only gives us the workspace we need but it also allows for space needed in the future. We are grateful to the Commission for its support in this project.'

According to the contract, work was scheduled to begin work on the project on January 9 with a 240-calendar day timeline.