Talk of county capital projects and school-related news ruled the evening Thursday as Lowndes County District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith held his second community meeting of the year.
About 15 District 4 residents gathered in the Sandfield Community Center in Columbus” Southside as several city and county officials updated residents on pending county projects.
During the meeting, Lowndes County Administrator Ralph Billingsley provided status reports of the county”s future plans.
County officials during the next few weeks are expected to learn if they will be able to purchase a nearly three-acre tract of land near the intersection of Warpath and Lehmberg roads in East Columbus, Billingsley said.
If the county purchases the property, it will use the land to construct a nearly $3 million health department to replace the more than 50-year-old current health department on Military Road.
“We should be able to close on that land late this month or early next month,” Billingsley said. “We will begin constructing the facility in late October or early November, and we should be done with it by next summer.”
County officials also are working to purchase the vacant former Galloway-Chandler-McKinney Insurance building near the intersection of Main Street and 12th Street North to house the county”s tax and administrative offices, Billingsley explained.
“It will be much easier access for people who have nothing to do but to purchase car tags or pay property taxes,” Billingsley said of the building. “We will probably start moving into that building sometime next year.”
Another area vacant building soon may be filled as well, explained Columbus Municipal School District Superintendent Del Phillips.
The former Mitchell Elementary School on 15th Street South may have a new tenant “really soon,” Phillips told the crowd.
“Right now, our board is reviewing an offer a community-based entity has made on the old Mitchell School building,” Phillips said. “I can”t say who it is yet, but I should have information on that really soon.
“We don”t want that building sitting vacant any more than you do,” Phillips told the crowd.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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