Fayette

County's need for a new jail and judicial complex and the

Fayette County Board of Education's need for local money

for two new schools plus other necessities topped the

list of concerns discussed jointly by the two bodies

Monday afternoon.

"We

have one set of taxpayers and two major needs," said

Harold Bost, chairman of the Fayette County Commission.

"We've

been planning this jail for two years and we've discussed

a bond issue, and a special local option sales tax,"

Commissioner Herb Frady added. Proposed cost of the jail

and court complex is between $60 million and $70 million.

Bost said the commission doesn't have a timetable, but

"talked about November" as the time to put the

project before the voters for funding.

The Board

of Education is working on a time schedule with next June

as a deadline for having funding in place and

construction bids out for one of two new schools. The

board risks losing $7 million in state funding if it

fails to come up with its local share of $12 million.

"We all recognize the tremendous needs in the

county," said school board Chairman Debbie Condon.

"When

the SPLOST failed last March," she added, "it

put us back... we're directing our staff to look into

[funding] options and give us a needs assessment. Some

things addressed in the last SPLOST are desperately

needed."

If the

school board decides on a SPLOST, November would be the

earliest it would be placed on the ballot. The amount

would certainly exceed the $12 million needed for the new

elementary and middle school.

The purpose

of Monday afternoon's meeting was to "Know each

other better and open up lines of communication,"

Bost said. The commission has met with the councils of

all the county's municipalities as well.

The two

groups also agreed to take a second look at how the

numbers are deciphered for number of children per

household and where the greatest impact due to growth is

being felt in the county. "We need to be

area-specific, rather than generic across the

county," said Commissioner Linda Wells. She

suggested comparing county growth versus city growth and

identifying areas that are growing too quickly.

Wells

called Monday's joint session "beneficial."

School board member Connie Hale added," We need to

do this once in a while."

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