The Newton County Board of Commissioners also approved spending up to $474,920 in 2011 SPLOST money for the architectural and engineering design of expansion of the Newton County Judicial Center.

Marietta-based Lyman Davidson Dooley will design the expansion. The actual construction is expected to cost around $6.3 million. County Manager John Middleton said Lyman Davidson Dooley had also designed the Newton County Administration Building, the never-built civic center and the renovation of the judicial center when a fifth judges office was added for Ken Wynne.

The construction will be bid out at a later time.

County does not have to bid out recycling contract
In a legal opinion requested by Chairman Kathy Morgan, County Attorney Tommy Craig said the Board of Commissioners did have to bid out contract for the recycling and waste collection centers.

The Board of Commissioners approved an extension of its contract with Junior Hilliard General Services by a 3-2 vote in November. Commissioners Nancy Schulz and Lanier Sims voted against the contract because it had not been bid out since 2001.

While the county's charter says competitive bids should be sought for purchases greater than $50,000, Craig wrote in a memo that this has historically been applied to the purchase of goods. The contract for services like landscaping and medical and food services at the Newton County Detention Center have been renewed without being bid out, Craig said.