For everyone who thought the Jones County Department of Human Services saga involving the County Supervisors and City of Laurel had come to an end, consider this popular American proverb: “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings!”

The fat lady apparently hasn’t sung for the DHS building. Although in early October the Jones County Board of Supervisors said their vote to build the new DHS building in Ellisvile was final, on Monday they agreed to try again for a Laurel location.

The decision came after Board President Andy Dial recognized the presence of Laurel City Councilman Trey Chinn of Ward Seven and stated the City of Laurel has proposed a resolution that will give the county property behind Fred’s in Downtown Laurel for the construction of the new facility.

“I am prepared to offer a resolution stating that we are conveying property to DHS building tomorrow at the City Council meeting,” Chinn said. “I will add the item to tomorrow’s agenda.”

The City Council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Chinn said he expects to receive the votes needed to OK the construction of the DHS building on a portion of the parking lot behind Fred’s.

Dial informed supervisors that he thought Laurel officials would have the resolution prepared and ready to present at Monday’s board meeting. Since a formal resolution was not ready to present to the Board of Supervisors, Dial asked Chinn to explain what the City of Laurel is proposing.

“The City of Laurel is offering the parking lot behind Fred’s in its entirety,” said Chinn. “The only thing we ask is that you leave some parking space for Fred’s customers.”

Dial then asked County Engineer Ronnie Clark if he thought the property behind Fred’s would be feasible for the DHS project. Clark said he sees no reason why it wouldn’t work.

“We need to measure things up and see what makes it adequate when the Wallace (Drugs) property was not,” said Clark. “At the peak time, DHS needs at least 120 parking spaces.”

Without measuring the property, Clark said it looks like it would be able to meet those specifications. However, he would measure the area and get the information back to the board by Wednesday or Thursday.

Clark added that with the property behind Fred’s the county would not have to do any drainage work like it would have had to on the Wallace Drugs property. The parking lot is already paved and the county won’t have to take on the expense of building storm water retention.

Clark also said that if all goes well and the city does give the county the property behind Fred’s it would mean the DHS building would have to become a multiple story facility. When asked how much additional expenses the county would acquire, Clark said the only additional expense would be the cost of an elevator.

“And if you go two or three stories, the cost of the elevator won’t change,” he said.

The county has proposed to construct a 20,000 to 21,000-square-foot building, which is estimated to cost about $3 million. The county has received a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant for the construction of the proposed building.

Many Laurel residents have voiced concerns that moving DHS to Ellisville would cause a hardship on the majority of those who use the facility.