Stephens County approves $184,500 consolidation of coroner’s office and morgue

Stephens County commissioners unanimously approved a $184,500 quote March 24 to combine the county coroner’s office and morgue at the entrance to the old landfill. The vote authorized a project intended to bring together functions now operating in separate locations, but county documents do not set a construction start or completion date.

The decision commits substantial county spending to a single site for services tied to death investigations and morgue operations. The coroner told commissioners that his office is in the government building while the morgue is at the county shop, and said a centralized location would provide a safer setting for the county.

Commissioners did not approve the work at their first March meeting. On March 10, the board unanimously postponed the building decision until March 24 so it could confirm that competing quotes covered the same services; the March 10 minutes list a $198,840 quote from Daddison Inc. After that comparison period, commissioners approved the lower $184,500 quote in a unanimous March 24 vote.

Commissioners’ recorded action favored consolidating the two operations at the old-landfill entrance. The coroner supported the move on safety and operational grounds, describing the present split between the government building and county shop. The record does not include a public objection to the project, nor does it describe how the county will finance the work or whether either existing space will be repurposed after consolidation.

The March 24 vote was a completed approval of a $184,500 quote, rather than a proposal still awaiting board action. An April 14 county agenda repeated the March approval language but did not document a new vote, contract execution, construction authorization or progress. There is also a naming inconsistency in the March 24 minutes: the motion identifies Martin Construction as the approved quote, while text immediately before the motion names New Dimensions Construction at the same $184,500 amount.

The next public marker will be a county record showing how the approved quote is being carried out—such as an executed contract, construction authorization, amendment, work update or completion notice. Until then, residents can confirm the unanimous approval and project location, but not which contractor name will govern the final paperwork, when construction will start, or when a consolidated coroner’s office and morgue will open.