By Ray King
Simultaneous groundbreaking ceremonies Monday marked the start of construction for three new Jefferson County buildings, including a new health department.
Appearing on the Oldies 101.3 morning show Tuesday, Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson said the three buildings were needed.
Robinson said even before he took office, he had been called to the Health Department and saw that a new building was needed. “When I first started to do this thing, I went to trying to get donations from institutions,” He said. At that point, he met with representatives of the P3 group, and a public-private partnership was created.
“The way this is financed, the county did not have to put up any money,” Robinson said. “They put up all the construction costs and the county leases them to own.”
He was asked how the locations for the new buildings were chosen:
The new coroner’s office will be located at East 2nd and Convention Center Drive and will be named for U.S. Brown, who owned Brown Funeral Home “and did so much for the community,” Robinson said.
He said construction is scheduled to begin on Oct. 19.
Health Department Groundbreaking
VA Building Groundbreaking
Coroner’s Office Groundbreaking
Coroner Chad Kelley
