Commission and School Board seek to open joint facility for county and schools

The Maury County Commission and Maury County School Board met this month to discuss the possibility of opening a future facility to serve as a central office for both entities.

The Maury County Commission currently holds its meetings and main operations at the northeast corner of the downtown Columbia square, while the Maury County Public Schools headquarters at 501 East 8th St. and conducts meetings at the Horace O. Porter School at College Hill.

"Having a central office is a need of ours, and something that we've needed for a while because we are out of space," school board Chair Will Sims said. "We are in an old building that's been retrofitted to work, and we make it work, but it's not exactly what we would build to house a central office."

The idea to combine county and school operations under one facility has been a topic of discussion going back many years. This was the first time both boards could join together in more than a year to discuss how, or if, a project like this could be accomplished.

This would not only involve locating the right property, but also coming to a mutual agreement that this would indeed be the best solution for both parties, as well as the community.

"There is a really strong desire to move forward with this," School Board Vice Chair Jackson Carter said. "I think it benefits everybody in the community for us to do something somewhere, and it makes an insane amount of sense to place our school and county offices in close proximity. That way if someone has business, you know where to find us."

Spatial needs and the cost of older buildings

Board members spent much of the meeting discussing the potential benefits in addition to having county and school under one building.

For one, the new facility would address the county's current office space issues and allow for an estimated 26 additional classrooms for students, Maury County Superintendent Lisa Ventura said.

"These are employees that are county wide, but we don't have any space for them at our central office," Ventura said. "They have classroom space that we are using as offices, sometimes with multiple people in those classrooms. Other than Highland Park and Baker, I can't think of a building that does not house a county-wide staff member that we wouldn't pull up into this complex."

Commissioner Ray Jeter added that, much like MCPS, the county also operates in an older building that "we've made work," but that ongoing maintenance is becoming much harder, not to mention expensive.

"I think this is a great idea and has the potential to save a lot of money," Jeter said. "We are going to have to build these buildings in Maury County at a certain point and time in its history, a very soon history. Whatever it looks like, it's a benefit to the county, a benefit to the people of Maury County."

Finding the right location, downtown revenue

No votes were taken during Wednesday's meeting, but a few properties were considered, such as the former McDowell Elementary School at 714 W. 7th St.

Another issue was whether the facility should be one building or split into two, with one serving for the county and the other for schools.

A move to a new facility would also open up real estate on the downtown square, which could open opportunities for new businesses and expansion, especially as the new Maury County Judicial Center continues to develop.

"To me, I'm really concerned as we make decisions moving into the future of selling this 25% of the square, and what it does to our downtown businesses," Commissioner Gabe Howard said.

"It's 35,000 square feet sitting on 23 acres, and if you're really good at throwing a baseball you can from three of the largest schools in Maury County," Howard said. "It also has a pool system that is primarily used by schools in Maury County."

"While I'm all in on selling the 25% of the square, we need revenue-generating businesses That's property tax, that's sales tax, personal/tangible property, lots of tax revenue generated on the square. Hopefully, we can get a boutique hotel here on our downtown district."

Howard added that another potential property to consider could be the Muletown Rec facility at 1446 Oak Springs Drive.

At the meeting's conclusion, board members took a poll for three suggested locations, though no official vote was cast. However, all school board and commission members said they would be in favor of the project in general.

Potential sites proposed included the former McDowell Elementary School, the county parking lot at the intersection of East 7th and Woodland Streets (Motor Alley) and a portion of property located off Tom J. Hitch Parkway.

The McDowell property was clearly the winner with 22 members voicing in favor, while two members were in favor of the county parking lot and one for the Tom J. Hitch property.

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Commission and School Board seek to open joint admin facility