The Lamar County Board of Supervisors has voted to advertise for bids to remodel the county’s former tax office building, which is located on Main Street in Purvis, across the street from Lamar County Circuit Court.
County administrator Jody Waits said. the building, which currently holds the county’s IT department, is in need of repairs to the HVAC system and other issues.
“We used our in-house resources to renovate a space for (the IT employees) in the building, so the remaining part of the building we hope to get remodeled.
“We need to get some of the HVAC systems replaced, and wiring repaired, so that we can move the investigators (from the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department) into that building. They’re currently in a space that’s too small for them. We still need to provide space for Child Protective Services, because they’re also in a space that’s too small for them.”
The building originally served as a bank before becoming home to the county’s tax services. After tax collector/assessor Jack Smith and his staff moved into another location on Main Street, the county’s IT department moved into the former tax building.
The county’s public defender also has an office in that building.
“It needs to be reconfigured with offices and conference rooms to accommodate the investigative staff,” Waits said. “Then the electrical, lighting, heating, air conditioning, bathroom upgrades – all that needs to be done.
“It’s just an older building that’s been sitting there for a while, so it needs some attention.”
Supervisors will open bids for the project at a later date.
“We don’t have a timeline (for the work), but based on the design we have, we’re looking at close to a million dollars to do that.”
