Bob Alloy with Territorial Engineering told the commissioners that they have laid out the details with a contractor to get a rough estimate on the cost, and the commissioners approved a motion to fund the improvement in the amount of $42,890 with an administrative cost of $5620, with a total not to exceed $48,510. It was emphasized that the funds would be paid to the vendor and not the city of Knox, and that the project should be completed no later than April 1, 2014.
The commissioners are still discussing the possibility of asking the city of Knox for an abatement on water billing for the next 10 years, though no official request has yet been made. The county has obtained an easement from property owners Chuck and Dennis Estok to go through their property to perform the work.
County officials want to get this work done as soon as possible in order to realize a potential savings of $500,000 to taxpayers by keeping the jail project on schedule. That means bid documents for the project have to be ready to go by mid-September.
