State officials say they are making progress toward startingconstruction of a mental health crisis center in Brookhaven.

The estimated $2.7 million crisis center will serve as a smallhospital to treat people in need of psychiatric help but cannotreceive it because of limited space at other state facilities. TheBrookhaven facility will be located on Brookman DriveExtension.

“The architect has been working on completing the drawings,”said Tessie Smith, spokeswoman for the state Department of MentalHealth.

Smith said an exact date to advertise for construction has notbeen determined, but would be done after bonds for the project aresold.

“We anticipate funds will be available in December or January,”Smith said.

In 1999, Brookhaven was one of seven cities chosen as sites forthe crisis centers. Other cities included Batesville, Corinth,Cleveland, Grenada, Newton and Laurel.

A ground breaking ceremony for the Brookhaven facility was heldabout two years ago. However, Mental Health Bureau Chief RogerMcMurtry said additional land acquisition concerns and progress atother centers kept the Brookhaven project from moving forward.

“It just hit that all the others were ready to bid and that onewasn’t,” McMurtry said.

The state originally received five acres for the center but thenneeded to buy about four more acres, McMurtry said. That activitywas completed and all title work cleared in the summer.

McMurtry said Dist. 92 Rep. Dr. Jim Barnett was successful ingetting a bond bill through the legislature to provide additionalfunds for the Brookhaven center. The chief was appreciative of thelegislative support.

“The legislature has been very cooperative,” McMurtry said.

The crisis center will have 16 beds, plus one additional bed toisolate patients with potentially contagious illnesses. The centerwill have 35 or 36 employees, up from an earlier expectation of32.

“It’s taking a little more than we anticipated,” McMurtrysaid.

Of the crisis centers, McMurtry said the one in Corinth is theonly one currently in operation.

The center in Newton has been constructed and is being used astemporary office space. Construction of centers in othercommunities has been finished or is nearing completion, McMurtrysaid.

Regarding plans for the Brookhaven center, McMurtry said sometechnical changes were needed based on what officials hadencountered during work on the other centers.

“We’ve got the experience now of having a couple of them up,”McMurtry said, mentioning mechanical room and roof drainage issuesbut no major modifications that were needed.

Following completion of the bid process and a 300-dayconstruction time period, McMurtry estimated the Brookhaven crisiscenter would be ready to dedicate in December 2004 or early2005.

The Brookhaven crisis center will have an operating budget ofaround $2.2 million a year. McMurtry did not anticipate having afull operating budget until July 2005, but he said some personnelwould staff the center as soon as construction is completed.