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JACKSON – Derrick Bennett, who serves as Northampton County’s Economic Development Director, presented information about recent Request for Qualifications (RFQ) bids for project during the commissioners’ meeting on Sept. 4 at the new Northampton County Courthouse.

As previously reported by the News Herald, the county is working towards the goal of constructing a new detention center. In April, they put out an RFQ seeking architectural firms to design and develop plans for such a facility.

Bennett reported during Wednesday’s meeting that they received two responses, one from Dynotech and another from Moseley Architects. His recommendation was to approve the bid from Moseley Architects since the county had worked with them previously while assessing the former Odom prison site.

Board Chair Charles Tyner said the state had allocated around $1.8 million for design and engineering work on the project.

Odom Correctional, located outside of Jackson, served as a state prison until it was shut down in 2019 as a cost-saving measure by North Carolina Department of Public Safety. In 2021, the county was conveyed the property for no monetary consideration. At the time, county officials hoped that Odom could be used as a replacement for the current county jail.

But the cost estimates to renovate Odom proved to be more expensive than constructing a new facility. County Manager Julian Phillips stated during Wednesday’s meeting that the renovation cost estimate was upwards of $30-40 million.

“Everything in that building is out of date,” added Board Chair Charles Tyner.

Commissioner Melvetta Broadnax Taylor asked where the site for the new facility would be located. Bennett said it wasn’t definite yet, but the proposed site would be at the Odom facility.

Commissioner Geneva Faulkner motioned to approve Moseley Architect’s bid, and Broadnax Taylor seconded. The vote passed unanimously in favor among those in attendance. Commissioner Kelvin Edwards was unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting.

Bennett also reported to the board that they’d recently put out an RFQ seeking bids for due diligence work at the Northampton Commerce Park site.

In June, the county received a $49,200 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to be used for due diligence projects at the site, which is located on more than 500 acres of land on Lebanon Church Road near Garysburg, in the vicinity of Interstate 95. Due diligence includes performing environmental assessments, archeological analyses, boundary surveys, and more to ensure a site is ready for development.

Bennett stated they have not been in talks with any companies for the site yet since the due diligence work is only the first step forward.