It’s official. The City of Laurel has officially transferred city downtown land to Jones County for the construction and relocation of the Department of Human Services building.

After several months of discussion, members of the Laurel City Council on a 6-1 vote — with Councilman Tony Thaxton casting the lone vote of opposition — approved the county’s request for land to build the DHS building.

“I’ve been in favor of the DHS building remaining in Laurel,” Thaxton said, adding that he’s “never been in favor of using city property for the building. ... There are many other areas in Laurel that the DHS building can be built.”

However, the remaining six city council members voted in favor of authorizing the administration to convey real property from the City of Laurel to Jones County for the construction of a building for the DHS.

Tuesday’s vote comes after many meetings and discussions about the location of the facility.

Last week, Jones County engineer Ronnie Clark, accompanied by Jones County Supervisor Andy Dial, told city officials that it would be feasible to construct the new Department of Human Services building in downtown Laurel on the property located between Fred’s and Sam Creel & Associates, formerly the Farmer’s Market area.

Clark said the 1.4 acres of property is sufficient if the building is a three-story structure.

The county is proposing to construct a three-story building with 107 parking spaces for DHS and an additional 32 parking spaces would be available on the adjacent land.

Dial, who is president of the Jones County Board of Supervisors, said on most days the DHS utilizes about 75 parking spaces.

County officials told the City Council that the proposed facility would be a brick structure keeping with the downtown look.

Clark said the structure will be 6,400 square foot building with three stories totaling approximately 19,200 square feet.

City Councilman Johnny Magee Tuesday commended City Councilman Trey Chinn, who has been working with county officials, for Chinn’s work on the matter.

Chinn said he’s just pleased the city was able to work with the county and keep the DHS building in Laurel.

Councilwoman Willie Evans said it’s important to note that Fred’s officials and members of Laurel Express, the city’s Main Street group, have expressed their support of the project.

While no monetary compensation was provided for the land, council members said it was a plus for the city.

According to the agreement between the city and council, the Board of Supervisors has agreed not to increase the city’s jail fee — which is currently at $20 per day — for the next five years.

Councilman Manuel Jones said he supported the county’s request because of the fee stability.

“It was always my thing that we needed to get something out of the deal,” Jones said. “By getting that cap on the jail fee, we did get something.”

Evans said locating the DHS building in Laurel is a plus for the city while providing a service to the people of Laurel.

Laurel’s Chief Administrative Officer Dennis Keveryn asked that the county consider only charging the city the $20 fee for housing prisoners on a 24-hour basis and not on a midnight to midnight cycle.

Dial said he could make that recommendation to the county board.

Tuesday, Keveryn questioned why the county did not include anything in the order concerning his request.

Chinn said the county was “still considering it.”

The process to this point has involved numerous meetings and discussions concerning what elected officials will do.

The county selected two sites — one in downtown Laurel and one on Highway 11 near Ellisville.

Since September, meetings have been conducted between city and county officials discussing the location of the new DHS building.

However, the Jones County Board of Supervisors never made an official request to the city concerning any specific piece of property in the city until Tuesday.

Laurel businessman William E. “Bill” Wallace — the owner of Wallace Discount Drugs in Laurel — offered to donate the county property to build the DHS building.

City officials said they thought the matter had been solved with Wallace’s donation. However, the county said Wallace’s property was less than one and a half acres and could not be used for the building.

The county board of supervisors on Oct. 5th then voted to proceed with constructing the new building at the Highway 11 location.

Then, the supervisors on Nov. 2nd voted to consider accepting property from the City of Laurel.

On Nov. 3rd, the Laurel City Council voted to approve a resolution offering to consider conveying property to Jones County for the construction of a building for the DHS.

Then last week, Clark told the supervisors that the new Department of Human Services building could be built on the property located between Fred’s and Sam Creel & Associates, formerly the Farmer’s Market area.

Dial said Tuesday afternoon that he’s “pleased that the council has approved the request.”

“I’m just glad we got this part done. The county administrator this afternoon is ordering the environmental assessment for the project,” Dial said. “We are beginning the process. ... It took a long time to get here, but we are now here and ready to go.”

The county has received a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant for the construction of the proposed building.