June 27th, 2021 – 2:00 AM
WZQZ Radio –
(Via WZQZ Radio) Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry and Sheriff Mark Schrader, along with State Senator Jeff Mullis and State Representative Eddie Lumsden announced on Friday that Chattooga County will be purchasing seven acres and the old GBI Crime Lab from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
The property is being purchased for $10 from the state.
According to the Commissioner, the multi-phase plan for the property is to first move the sheriff’s office to the facility and eventually to use the site to build a new jail for Chattooga County.
Sheriff Mark Schrader said that the purchase of the property, it will save the county about $2 million when a new jail can be constructed.
While Commissioner Elsberry has no immediate plans to build a new jail on the property, he says that is the eventual goal. The commissioner said that while a new jail is a goal, the funding of the jail is something that will happen in later phases of the project.
Elsberry added, “Just because we don’t have the money (for a new jail), doesn’t mean we can’t work towards it”.