Commission says no to film crew in old jail
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
The county commission has decided that no one should be allowed inside the old jail.
The Randolph County Commission decided Monday that the county’s old jail building is in no condition to host visitors.
That was the takeaway from Monday’s meeting after the commission chose not to allow a film crew access to the building via a short-term lease.
County administrator Travis Heard was approached by the film company last month asking if they could use the building for a project that required an abandoned jail. Heard presented the issue to the commission at its meeting two weeks ago, and the commissioners agreed that given the deplorable condition of the interior of the old jail building the county would need to be protected legally before allowing anyone to go in there.
Heard emailed county attorney John Tinney, who strongly advised against moving forward.
“He advised not to pursue leasing the old jail to a film crew because the level of risk exposure and potential litigation arising from the relationship could cancel out any financial benefit we receive,” Heard told the commissioners in an email dated May 28. “Even with a well written contract with indemnity clauses, disclosures, and PPE requirements, a crew member, subcontractor, or anyone else who enters the facility could still sue the county, which would lead to incurred court defense cost likely totaling more that the lease payment, even if we did win the case.”
The old jail building has not been occupied on a regular basis in over five years, and the absence of upkeep has taken its toll.
“There’s animals that have found their way in there, and the mold condition is obviously only going to spread,” said commissioner Chris Lunsford.
Sheriff David Cofield has said entire walls inside the building are covered in mold, and the building is overrun with varmints and their droppings.
The commission has sought in recent months to find a way to have the building demolished. They were seeking to allocate available capital improvement funds for the project as a first step in building a parking lot on the site.
“Some of us have strong convictions wanting to see that thing get demolished as soon as possible, and I think that can happen if the right things take place,” Lunsford said. “It has been closed for some number of years, and it should remain so.”
