The former Quality Plus Apparel building in Bakersville is slated to be the new home of the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, officials said. (Submitted)
The building that used to house textile manufacturer Quality Plus Apparel in Bakersville, across from the Bakersville Fire Department, is on track to become the new home for the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, county officials announced this past week.
The sheriff’s office is currently housed in a FEMA building near the County Administration Building in Bakersville, but Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street has expressed concerns over the level of security and privacy in that building.
The FEMA building was said to be a temporary location for the sheriff’s office more than two decades ago.
Utilizing $5 million in state grant funds that were given to the county specifically for a law enforcement center, the county now plans to upgrade the Quality Plus building to make it suitable to house a new sheriff’s office.
The new building will feature secure, private interview spaces, secure drug storage, a drug processing area, office spaces, bathrooms with showers, a meeting and training room and more. All of which, the current sheriff’s office lacks but badly needs.
The $5 million grant is expected to be sufficient to cover the purchase of the building, a remodel and furnishing, with some allowance for future needs.
The commissioners acknowledge that adding a local jail is important, but that project will have to wait for now. The law enforcement center is one goal crossed off, however.
“Yes, we do need a jail,” said Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Harley Masters. “But we need a sustainable financial plan to get to that goal. I’m proud that we are moving in the right direction and I feel confident that a new sheriff’s office is a firm foundation that will be a stepping stone to obtaining the goal of a jail in the future.”