More than a year after the idea was brought before the Madison County board of supervisors, efforts to bring a driver’s license facility to the county are still slow going.
However, District Two Supervisor Trey Baxter said the county is currently working to secure funding for the project by lobbying the state legislature during the 2020 session.
The 9,200-square-foot facility has been projected to cost up to $3.1 million and could service up to 250 patrons daily.
When Department of Public Safety (DPS) Chief of Staff Mandy Davis and Lt. Col. Ken Brown, Director of the Driver Service Bureau, addressed the board of supervisors in August 2019, Brown said the budget request to the legislature would be for funding to purchase equipment for the facility.
Brown has said the process of purchasing equipment could take up to eight months. He also said that DPS would cover staffing for the facility.
According to County Administrator Shelton Vance, the county is still considering a location near the emergency management complex in Canton.
Vance has been working with DPS officials since November 2018 to design a building suitable, by DPS standards, for the facility.
The building is expected to have space for a gun permit issuance office, as well as potential for commercial driver’s licenses.
