AMHERST, VA - The long-brewing plan for a regional jail that would include Amherst and Appomattox counties took a step forward Tuesday night.

The boards of supervisors for both counties have entered into a “memorandum of understanding.”

The memorandum states that both counties are willing to “pursue the steps necessary to be in a position to submit an application to the Board of Corrections for funding (for the jail).”

Appomattox County signed into the agreement at its Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday night. The decision to move forward with plans for the regional jail came after the General Assembly allowed the counties an exemption from a moratorium prohibiting counties and cities from requesting state funding for the construction of regional jails.

This means that Amherst and Appomattox Counties could be reimbursed by the state for 50 percent of the jail's construction costs. The memorandum, which is the first of several that the counties will enter into as the project goes on, outlined the initial steps the counties would take toward planning for a regional jail.

According to the memorandum, the counties would agree to an initial budget of $100,000 that would allow for the preparation of a community-based corrections plan, along with a planning study.

The purpose of the corrections plan would be to evaluate the current need for a new regional jail in the two counties, and to forecast growth in the jail population over the next decade.

The planning study would take the forecast from the corrections plan and create a preliminary design and cost estimate of the regional jail.

The memorandum also said that the counties would focus on finding a site for the jail in Amherst County, but should also look at the need for holding cells in Appomattox County.

It said that county administrators - Rodney Taylor of Amherst and Aileen Ferguson of Appomattox - were authorized to make decisions on all contracts relative to the project, provided that the budget was not exceeded. All contracts would require the written consent of both administrators.

The memorandum said that the administrators would prepare a report for their boards that would include the corrections plan, the planning study, preliminary financing and operational plans.

The operational plan would include the option of contracting with other regional jail authorities, such as the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority, to operate the regional jail.

Plans for a regional jail including Amherst and Appomattox counties have been in the works for almost two years.

Last May, Nelson County dropped out of plans to form a regional jail authority with Amherst and Appomattox, saying that expenses made the project “not viable at this time.”