Carroll County Supervisor Chair, Neil Bock, is urging the rest of the board to consider all options available for the use of the Mallard View residential facility with the planned closure of Dec. 31 this year. He says he is not comfortable sitting back and waiting for a solution to appear and believes they should consider any idea at this point.
At a recent county planning meeting, Region XII Council of Governments Executive Director, Rick Hunsaker, and Local Assistance Director, Chris Whitaker, made an offer to prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) that could be distributed to parties that may be able to utilize the space. Bock said he had another idea as well, but found it difficult to provide details to interested parties.
Supervisor Dean Schettler questioned whether or not the building would be considered as an option for the jail. Bock said he felt the cost to renovate the Mallard View building would be prohibitive and it may make more sense to bring the current jail up to code instead. He added, however, that it should not yet be excluded as an option. Beardmore said he believed this should be a topic tackled by the jail committee.
The supervisors have agreed to ask Hunsaker and Whitaker to attend the next meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to further explore the RFP option. They have also scheduled a tour of the Mallard View building beginning at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8. The public is invited to attend the tour.
