JETS project moves along

     In a special Jones County Supervisors meeting on Nov. 17, the board met with County Attorney Phil Parsons to discuss the next steps in the proposed JETS facility in Monticello.

     The board secured a contract with Superior Steel and Concrete Construction (Sean Janssen) of Monticello in the amount of $219,150. Monticello Planning and Zoning previously approved the plat of survey, with the Monticello City Council set to approve during their Nov. 20 meeting.

     With the contract signed by Janssen, Parsons suggested the county hold off on any construction until they own the land.

     “That’s my main concern,” he told the board.

     The county is working with Tom Yeoman on purchasing land off John Drive in Monticello for $30,000.

     “If you sign the contract with a notice to proceed,” said Parsons, “the contractor will start working on land we don’t own.

     “I strongly urge you not to proceed until we have a clear title.”

     Parsons has been in contact with ECICOG, the transportation agency, working with the county on this project. Parsons offered to put together the purchase agreement for the land, but suggested ECICOG handle the title of opinion.

     “The title opinion will need to be done before the transfer of title,” he said. “There might be a slim chance things go bad or you find out there’s a lean against the property no one knows about.”

     In the mean time, Parsons said Yeoman needed to also update the abstract.

     At the most, Parsons thought the start of the project was at least one to two weeks out until all of the legal paperwork was filed.

     Jones County is paying the upfront costs to purchase the land and have the JETS facility built. Once the project is complete, the facility is turned over to ECICOG for 30 years. After that timeframe, the county would have first rights in getting the property back.