Based on input from county officials the old Randolph County jail building is not fit for human occupancy.
A film company has contacted Randolph County administrator Travis Heard about using the county’s old jail as a potential set location for an upcoming project.
Details on the project and who the company is are scarce. Heard said the initial conversation was brief because he knew the County Commission would have to sign off on any use of the building.
The building has been unoccupied since 2020, and Sheriff David Cofield said the last time anyone was in there for any extended amount of time was over two years ago. That absence has left the interior of the building essentially uninhabitable. Mold is rampant, as is the presence of urine and droppings from vermin that have taken up residence inside.
That condition left the commissioners hesitant about allowing anyone inside.
“I feel like we need to get advice from our legal representation first,” said Commissioner Lorenzo Foster. “I just don’t see it as a safe place to let folks go in and out of.”
Commissioner Pam Johnson said that if the county ultimately goes along with this, the contract for the use of the building should clearly keep the county’s hands clean of any liability.
“Liability needs to not be on the county at all if we allow them to go in,” she said. “And I think there should be a contract that states all of that before they ever walk in the door.”
Commissioner Chris Lunsford, while acknowledging the objections to letting someone in the building, did address the potential upside of allowing the project to move forward.
“On the other hand, I’d hate to close the conversation down basically on our say-so if they were made aware of our concern and our warning, if they still expressed an interest and saw a method by which they could go in there, be it wearing masks or whatever,” Lunsford said. “I kind of look forward to the opportunity that there are some industries out there, like the film industry, that might start seeing our county, our communities and even some of our structures as a potential place to come and do some of these things.”
Commission chairman Derek Farr’s objection was less about the condition of the building and more about the delay that any use of the building would cause in the county’s ongoing efforts to have it demolished.
“I think this is going to prolong us getting rid of that building. It’s a space that we need for parking,” Farr said. “It would be more beneficial to the county to have more parking spaces and have that eyesore gone than it would be to have somebody come in and do something with it short term. I’ve wanted that thing gone for a long time.”
The Commission tabled the issue to revisit at a later date, pending discussion with the county attorney and further communication with the film company.
