MARSHALL CO., OK -- A small grant is now at the center of an embattled county commissioner's office in Marshall County.

Last year Marshall County commissioner Tom Adams requested a grant from the Southern Oklahoma Development Association, originally to fund road repairs in his district three.

Ten thousand dollars was awarded, but Adams says before he accepted the money, he wrote a letter to SODA Executive Director Wes Bowman, requesting the money instead help fund a new Department of Corrections inmate center in Madill.

Last week, two other county commissioners opposed to the change, voted not to allow it. A move SODA Director Wes Bowman says can't be done.

"The resolution clearly gives Mr. Adams, which is signed by all three county commissioners, the right to direct where the money for this project goes," Bowman said.

Bowman says that means the other two county commissioners, who did not want to comment, had no say where the money went. Because each commissioner receives their own grant for their district.

"They can set up their own internal proceedures anyway they want to do it, but in this case the vote came after the money had already been reallocated and mostly spent," said Bowman.

Last week, Commissioner Adams, outraged at his two colleagues, Royce Bartee and Wayne Scribner, spoke to First News.

"This had been done a year ago. Yes that is illegal the way they did that," said Adams.

Bowman says SODA believes the new DOC facility, that has received the grant money, is good for Marshall County.

"The Department of Corrections facility there will increase jobs. We think it's a good project."

Construction on the facility, done mostly by DOC inmates is almost comoplete. In fact, they only have to do some touch ups on the inside and a little bit of work on the parking lot.