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The Hamblen County Health Department Complex, to be located at the former Food City Oak Tree Plaza on Buffalo Trail is set to open in July.

Before that can happen, three change xdirectives for the new Health Department facility were approved Thursday by the Hamblen County Commission at the Hamblen County Courthouse.

Construction Change Directive No. 6 for $11,692 for taking care of soils on the south side of the building’s drive-through where a pond has formed. Some soil has to be removed and filled back in. Some of that dirt will be hauled to the back of the lot where other acreage is owned.

Construction Change Directive No. 7 for up to $8,055 is for a transom on the storefront of the building for installation of new sliding entrance doors. This passed on a 13-0 vote, with Commissioner Joe Huntsman absent.

“They had hoped that it would have worked without changing the transom, but it does not,” County Mayor Chris Cutshaw said. “The new sliding glass door needed a different transom to support the weight of that door.”

When asked if the Health Department will be completed by July, Cutshaw confirmed this.

Representatives Jennifer Gilbert and Ashley Lyons from the Hamblen County Health Department told commissioners that this is what they’re being told.

A revised Construction Change Directive for 412 linear feet of sewer line to be added under the concrete to reflect the cost of $78,207.86 or less was also passed for the Health Department, up from the original cost range of $69,000 to $88,000. The Change Directive was amended to reflect the new price and that no more than that could be spent.

“The original Change Directive came out in September of last year,” Cutshaw said. “It took this long before it all of the documentation came through to prove the cost. The architects had said that the line items were out of line. We sent it back and we changed to the construction change directive instead of a purchase change order. When we did that, the architects have to approve each line item.”

Gilbert and Lyons appeared before the commission to discuss the Health Education Loan Incentive to attempt to get a dentist employed at the Health Department. This is for up to three payments of $100,000 each with the county paying the loan institution directly, then getting reimbursed by the state. The contract runs until November, 2027.

“This was presented a couple of years ago for another candidate we had,” Gilbert said. “It is renewed annually by the state. We have an interested candidates that we’d like to proceed with.”

The Finance Committee also approved paving of Jaybird Road starting at Old Kentucky Road and ending at Stuffel Road for $80,000. This reflects a savings in paving of a local road while equipment is in the vicinity of construction.

The Sheriff’s Office is renewing its Slip and Mooring Lease Agreement with the Cherokee Boat Dock. This also includes update of the Indemnity Clause not to include the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office.

A funding request by the Tennessee Environmental Council to replant native trees in the community with a $400 sponsorship was approved. With this sponsorship, the county would receive 100 trees for replanting.

Hamblen County Mayor Chris Cutshaw reported that an anonymous $400 donation was received by the county to put toward that project to plant 100 trees.

Cutshaw said that there are some specifics going on inside the new Justice Center with some “little” details that are being cleaned up. Other than that, Cutshaw said the Center is “on-point.” Cutshaw expects a final report from BurWil Construction by June of this year.

When asked about jail staff at this time, Cutshaw said that there are 103 staff members, including four civil employees for the kitchen.

An interlocal agreement between Morristown and Hamblen County for a Justice Assistance Grant Program Award was passed.

Appointments for the Hamblen County Board of Equalization were approved for a two-year term. Appointed were Steve Canter, Harold Waddell, Bill Hicks and Dan Young.

Appointments to the Hamblen County Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals were also approved. Appointed to the board by commissioners were Will Slider, Phillip Carlyle, Jerry Horner, Edward Hale, John Allen, Jeff Wilder and Max Cook.

Dates for the budget committee meetings in May were announced. The Hamblen County Committees meeting will be held on Monday, May 11 at 5 p.m. for a budget overview presentation. The Budget Committee Workshop will be held on Saturday, May 16 beginning at 9 a.m. The May Commission Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21 at 5 p.m. All of these meetings will be held in the Large Courtroom of the Hamblen County Courthouse.