Huntingdon’s Blankenship to Install HVACs at Civic Center

HUNTINGDON (January 23) — Members of the Carroll County Purchasing Committee, Budget Committee and Real Estate Committee met Thursday. While the meetings were not related to one another, they factored into some important improvements and changes in the near future.

As part of the $2 million project to renovate the Carroll County Civic Center, one of the key items to be replaced is several HVAC units in the facility. Five bids were provided to the Carroll County Purchasing Committee to procure and install 12 five-ton units and two four-ton units. Of the five, Blankenship Heating & Cooling of Huntingdon was selected with a bid of $122,129.

Other bidders were Mid-South Heating and Air of Decaturville ($131,000); TN Home Solutions of Martin ($194,009); Culley Mechanical Services of Paris ($1295,000) and SM Lawrence of Jackson ($160,000). Members of the board unanimously went with Blankenship in part due to the price but also because it is a local business.

In other business, the Purchasing Committee selected Barger Construction of Yuma, Tenn., to serve as the construction manager for the Connected Communities Facilities Project i.e., the Civic Center renovation. Two organizations, Barger Construction and JLL of Nashville, submitted professional dossiers of past projects and plans. Barger’s bid of $155,000 (flat rate) was selected over JLL’s $80,000 (6% cost of the project) due in part to their location adjacent to Carroll County and the Purchasing Committee’s knowledge of past projects in the area.

Barger Construction managed the construction of the Martin Library, government offices in Lexington and The Dixie.

The Real Estate Committee met informally as there was no quorum. Jason Nobles for TDOT presented information on the Rochelle Road widening project. This project required TDOT to lease two tracts of land from the Carroll County Airport Regional Authority.

The two tracts would be leased and provide compensation valued at approximately $18,260. It was also noted that the Fairview Baptist Church sign located on the corner of Highway 22 South and Rochelle Road is in the right of way of the highway and is considered an encroachment by TDOT. Thus, the church has to remove the sign.

During the Budget Committee meeting, there were several items discussed most of which revolved around moving line item transfers.

The Election Commission requested moving $2,654 from legal notices to offset overspending on workers during the election. The Election Commission also requested $14,481 for maintenance The County Registrars’ Office requested $11,839 be moved from reserves to purchase a new computer server.

Carroll Academy received a grant valued at $840 for metal detectors. The Circuit Court received notice of awarding a grant and must allocate/spend the money for reimbursement. Also, there is an adjustment to the County Building Fund due to a miskey of information.

Additionally, members were provided a possible schedule for the FY 2025-26 Budget by County Financial Director Stacey McCaleb. This schedule while not set in stone would consist of five phases giving department supervisors and committee members time to work through the budget process. McCaleb additionally requested for consideration, creating an account that was strictly based around grants.