The Laurel City Council approved a resolution Tuesday to consider offering city property to Jones County for the construction of a Department of Human Services building.

The agenda item, introduced by Councilman Trey Chinn, had only one no vote, that of Ward 3 councilman Tony Thaxton.

Thaxton, who said he supported DHS being maintained in the City of Laurel, noted the matter, which has seen the building being moved back and forth from Ellisville, was “being handled mysteriously.”

“I’ve never seen any request from the county asking the city to do anything,” he said. “I’ve never seen a resolution. They’ve never submitted a request for any piece of property.”

Thaxton said the property in question, which is located between Fred’s and Sam Creel & Associates in downtown Laurel, may also present a legal issue for the city if they take away that parking area.

Board attorney David Ratliff said he’s had the same concern from a legal standpoint.

“We need a legal description of what they’re looking for and what they need,” he said. “Then, we can take that legal description to Fred’s and Creel to see if they have any objections. This resolution doesn’t require us to do anything.”

Ratliff said he was “mystified” that the county has yet to do a proper survey of the property, noting that he hasn’t received a lot of answers.

Added Thaxton, “This is not the only piece of property in Laurel or downtown Laurel that could be used.”

Council members also questioned the offer by the Jones County Board of Supervisors to maintain the current jail charges for a five year period, giving the city a savings of more than $400,000 during that time frame.

“How can they say it will save us $400,000 over the five year period when they just doubled the charges within the past year,” Thaxton asked. “They’re not doing the city any favors. It’s just smoke and mirrors.”

Ward 5 Councilman Manuel Jones said he doesn’t believe in voting on what a person says that they will do. “Where is the letter that says they won’t go up on jail fees for five years,” he asked.

Jones also questioned the wording of the resolution that said the city could convey “as much property as needed” for the DHS building.

“I’ve never seen a resolution like this,” he said. “They should have been more specific. What keeps them from coming back and saying they need space for 300 cars?”

Jones said that he expects to see everything in writing from the Jones County Board of Supervisors.