News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Jackson County receive more land than originally thought in the purchase of its new downtown Gainesboro building.
Mayor Randy Heady said that county commissioners approved the purchase of the property contingent on a completed survey of the building. He said the original purchase of about five to eight acres ended up being more than 10 acres.
“The property is hillside, and a lot of the property in Jackson County is, especially down here in Gainesboro,” Heady said. “But anyway we did gain a couple of acres out of getting the survey. Which, it’s always a good thing to know you bought more than what you thought you bought.”
Heady said that the building located next to the Dollar General in Gainesboro costs about $325,000 to purchase and will take $125,000 to remodel of federal grant money. He said that there is currently a State Farm on one end of the building that they hope to utilize rent money from to pay utilities for the building.
Heady said that the new building will house the Administrator of Elections and the County Clerk’s offices. He said that the move will facilitate county business, especially elections, by giving employees more space.
“On a normal day-to-day business, that’s a third of the traffic that you’re going to be giving a healthier, more square foot space to them being taken care of,” Heady said. “And it also lessens the traffic in the courthouse which is already small in size. We really feel like this is a win-win.”
Heady said that as of right now, there is no timeline for the renovations and the move into the building. He said that construction and supply chain timelines have made it difficult to predict a set time for the work.
