No commissioner mentioned the word “jail” Tuesday as the Douglas County Board of Commissioners (BOC) voted to take the first step toward holding a Nov. 3 special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) referendum to build the new facility.

The only person in the meeting speaking about the jail was tax protestor James Bell who took advantage of the BOC’s new guidelines for public comments which limits them to items on the agenda. He asked the board to reject the measure.

The vote was 4-1 in favor on a motion by District 3 Commissioner Mike Mulcare and a second by Commission Chairman Tom Worthan. District 4 Commissioner David Latham cast the only vote against the measure.

Specifically, Tuesday’s vote is the first step required by state law toward holding a SPLOST vote. The vote gives notice that county officials will meet with representatives of the three cities in Douglas County to discuss a proposed SPLOST/bond ballot referendum for the Nov. 3 scheduled election.

The law requires the BOC to give a 10-day notice before the meeting is held. Once the meeting is held, the county has 30 days to adopt a ballot.

Chief Deputy Stan Copeland told a Monday BOC work session that the daily county jail population remains around 750 while the facility’s square footage calls for housing only about 485 inmates. Last week, the count hit a record 793 on one day. The county is having to house 32 inmates in Irwin County in South Georgia at a cost of $35 per day, per inmate. Another 25 female trusties have been moved into a portable tent structure on the local jail grounds.

Worthan said Monday that the referendum will be just for a new jail.

“This is not a wish list but something we have to have,” Worthan said. “We’re listening to the public and they told us last time that they don’t want a wish list.”

Worthan was referring to the 2008 referendum that was voted down by the public probably because it had many listed projects that weren’t popular with the voters. A similar 2006 referendum was turned down because many voters didn’t want the new twin-tower structure built downtown. The county has since acquired a 42-acre jail site near the courthouse.

“Construction costs are coming down and interest rates are probably the lowest we’ll ever see in our lifetime,” Worthan said.

During his public comments, Bell asked the BOC to postpone another SPLOST vote “until we can look at other less costly solution to the issues at hand.”

Bell said, “If this Board of Commissioners had spent as much time seeking a solution to reducing the inmate population as it has on trying to sell the idea of spending more than $150 million on a new jail, we wouldn’t be addressing this issue today.”

Other items approved by the BOC Tuesday included:

• public hearing on new county fire code, with a BOC vote due after the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has approved the changes;

• beer, wine and liquor license for Hilton Garden Inn - Atlanta West by a 4-1 vote, with District 4 Commissioner David Latham casting the only vote against;

• calculation and payment of county Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) benefits under new formula created by the county’s legal department and internal auditor;

• authorization to accept a check for $52,000 from Bank of North Georgia for the sidewalk fund due from a residential development;

• agreement with Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) for phase two of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) which could bring another $3.8 million in federal stimulus funds to buy and refurbish foreclosed houses;

• receipt of $2,500 funding from the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to purchase psychological evaluation services and drug screening kits, with no matching funds required;

• approval of state grant award for the Family Drug Court in Juvenile Court in depravation cases, to be used for salary and state training, with no matching funds required;

• acceptance of a $106,871 Bureau of Justice grant from the U.S. Department of Justice for the sheriff’s office, district attorney’s office and solicitor general;

• acceptance of $340,000 in Federal Transit Administration stimulus funds to buy 10 new vans and two utility vehicles for the Rideshare program;

• authorization to hold the second annual Last Chance Triathlon at Boundary Waters Park on Oct. 11 and enter into an agreement with Dave Johnson Enterprises to conduct the event;

• authorization for the U.S. Travel Ball Association to host the Summer National Championship Games from July 20-25 at Boundary Waters Park;

• acceptance of $10,000 in sheriff’s office forfeiture funds to cover special training expenses;

• amendment to the Fiscal Year 2009 Aging Services contract with the ARC;

• addition of a deputy’s position for a school resource officer at the new Mason Creek Middle School, funded by the Douglas County School System;

• acceptance of $113,695 each from the sheriff’s asset forfeiture fund and the Douglasville Police forfeiture fund to provide $227,390 for the joint purchase of an armored vehicle to be used by both agencies’ tactical units;

• contract with West Georgia Technical College to correct the name on previous contracts which were with “West Central Technical College.” The college officially changed its name July 1 upon merger with West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange;

• and agreement with C. Everette Royal Jr. and Consolidated Holdings Inc. for exchange of property at the entrance drive at the site of the new E-911 emergency center.