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On Monday night, the Chambers County Commission passed a motion to allocate American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the purchasing of the Law Center Building for county employee use. 

County Engineer Josh Harvill spoke to the commissioners during the work session about the status of the ARPA funds, which will be able to retroactively pay for the $338,238 building purchase. 

Initially, the county used general funds to purchase the building with the hope that any remaining ARPA funds could be used to cover the cost. ARPA money comes from the state and local recovery funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Harvill said that the county had some offices across the road from the courthouse that were not in good condition. The county commissioners decided to purchase a new building rather than bid out renovation plans for the building.

The Law Center building, a former law center, was acquired by the county commission last year. It now houses a part of the Chambers County Revenue Commissioner’s office and the Chambers County Extension Service, according to County Attorney Skip McCoy.

It is located across the street from the Chambers County courthouse on South LaFayette Street. 

In January, the commission approved a bid to lead fiber optic cables from courthouse to the new building to provide communication between them.

After this year’s courthouse renovations, the county was left with over $500,000 in ARPA funds. Those funds need to be obligated and under contract for a project by December 31.