Building a new Lawrence County Jail won’t be one of the projects the county will seek funding for from the state’s multimillion dollar capital bill.

“As great as that would be, we don’t have any plans as to cost and actual need,” Commission President Bill Pratt said.

At last week’s commissioners meeting Sen. Bob Peterson, R-17, and Rep. Ryan Smith, R-93, detailed the Ohio Capital Bill that has $125 million to fund projects across the state. All 88 counties are eligible to apply for the money.

Deadline to get applications for the funds is Dec. 1. Criteria for the projects include the state having some ownership in the project. It could be a tie with a state university, county boards of developmental disabilities or department of jobs and family services.

Also a project with a detailed plan and a local match will have a better chance to get funding, the legislators said.

Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless has campaigned for more than a year to find a solution to the overcrowding at the current jail that no longer meets state standards for housing inmates. Two weeks ago state corrections officials came down to review the upgrades made at the facility built in the 1970s.

Because of that Pratt, after Thanksgiving, plans to call a meeting of the ad hoc jail resolution committee that met regularly during the spring but has not had a meeting for several months. He intends to invite officials from the state inspection board to that meeting.

“Do we want to plan to build a new jail,” Pratt asked. “We should hire a consultant on what our needs are. We need to put some money in the budget to pay for the consultant.”

Recently Lucas County paid a consultant $75,000 for a similar project, Pratt said.

Lawless said he was disappointed that no application would be made on behalf of the jail.

“I was hopeful that some of this money could be geared toward a new jail or solving the jail problem,” he said. “We have been putting the jail situation off for a decade or more and it will continue to get worse. I will be glad to have a consultant come in but I am sure the consultant will tell them what I have been telling them. We need a new jail, more space, more training, more programming, more manpower. I look forward to any kind of help we can get.”

Instead of the jail the commissioners are backing the restoration of the Ro-Na Theater, walking and biking trails in the Ohio University Center-Proctorville and a research and development part at The Point industrial park.

“I think they are three separate categories and they cater to different parts of this capital bill,” Pratt said. “I don’t think they will be competing against each other. It may be a chance we can get two or three funded rather than a (single) top priority that could get funded.”