The Barren County Corrections Center stands empty along Ford Drive in Glasgow on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. The unsanitary and dilapidated building continues to stand despite a grant received by the Barren fiscal court to demolish it.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
By Angela Briggs, special to WCLU News
GLASGOW, Ky. — An ethical dilemma convinced most members of the Barren County fiscal court to not move forward with demolition of the former Barren County Detention Center along Ford Drive.
A grant was awarded to the fiscal court to fund the demolition. Bids to complete the demolition were received, and RBS Design Group was hired some time ago.
Tim Coomer, a magistrate and chairperson of the Building and Property Committee, said the group was a day late in its procurement bid advertising process. The minor mistake cost RBS the project the first time, and the court was back to a second bidding process.
“The requirements were not met, which is really sad because we had already opened the bids,” said Magistrate Tim Coomer. “The grant required us to rebid it because the procurement procedure was not handled correctly by them, not us.”
Laws stipulate specific times a bid must be advertised in a publication. Since that requirement was not met, stipulations in the grant required the court to rebid the project.
Coomer explained his dissatisfaction and reasoned the process is now “unfair.”
RBS Design Group placed a bid on the project a second time for the same amount. Another company bid approximately $7,000 less than RBS’ first bid.
The Building and Property Committee voted to accept RBS’ bid a second time, but they were later notified that was not legal. The Barren River Area Development District said the lowest bid must be accepted since the payment comes from a grant.
Coomer said he felt the hiring of another company was not “moral” since they could have bid the project at a lower cost the second time but did not.
“I just don’t think it’s right,” Coomer said.
Kathryn Thomas, Barren County attorney, said the court must accept the lower bid to retain the grant.
“We’ve got ethics here,” said Magistrate Jeff Botts. “I value that more than the grant at this time.”
Magistrates Trent Riddle and Billy Houchens voted alongside Barren County Judge Executive Micheal Hale to accept the lower bid. Most of the court voted not to accept the bid.
The demolition of the jail will remain on hold.
It’s unclear what impact the move could have on further grant acquisition.
