Jones took office as Richmond's 79th mayor on January 1, 2009. During his tenure, four new schools were built: Broad Rock Elementary , Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, and Huguenot High School which is the first high school built in the City of Richmond in 40 years. Other new public works included a new fire station (Fire Station 17) completed in 2012, which was the first built by the City of Richmond in 18 years. It replaced a fire station built in 1917, which was designed for horse-drawn equipment. A new Richmond City Jail was also built, and opened in July 2014 under capacity. The replaced jail (built in the 1960s), had multiple overcrowding, maintenance and safety issues. During his last year in office, several agencies investigated the relationship between Jones' church (building a new structure in
Chesterfield County) and the Richmond Department of Public Works and other agencies, particularly as about 10% of city employees were members of his congregation, but after the election, Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney, Mike Herring, issued a report detailing laxities but declining to prosecute. Immediately before leaving office, Jones authorized significant severance packages for four high-level appointees. == Notes ==