Another Pricey Question

Now that everyone is full of turkey and stuffing, it is time to get back to work. Just before the holiday, the Jefferson County Facilities Committee met and looked at a Benefit Analysis for a County Complex that would house the Department of Education, the Jefferson County Finance Office, Agriculture Office, Mayor’s Office and offices located in the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse. The estimated cost for a County Complex is a little north of $10 million dollars.

The concept of a County Complex is not new in Jefferson County and dates back several commissions and mayors. Jefferson County Mayor Palmieri has made no bones about the fact that he is behind the idea but what has really raised the issue from the dead is the current mold situation in the Department of Education building. The estimated cost to clean up the mold is a little more than $50,000 but it is suggested that a new air system will have to be in place for the clean up to stick. And the price tag attached to that upgrade is around $500,000. Yes, that is a lot of money but it isn’t close to $10 million dollars. Jefferson County Finance Director Potts did a benefit analysis at the request of the Facilities Committee and in that analysis, he off set the cost with the sale of the current buildings, sans the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse. He also used maintenance, repairs and upgrades to current buildings to off set the net cost and ended up with $4.6 million dollars.

I have been thinking a lot about this County Complex and I just don’t see how this is the time to go to taxpayers with more requests. Potts says it could be paid for with a 4 cent property tax increase and I guess that it could. But should it be? I think that many are assuming the Finance Director is in favor of taking on more County debt or increasing property tax to pay for a County Complex but I haven’t heard him actually take a position. I would be interested to know what the man in charge of the check book thinks about taking on another costly project. Who knows? He may be totally on board but he may have reservations. I have reservations. We have a school in desperate need of repairs. We have building programs that are not even close to being paid off, heck they aren’t even finished. We just gave County employee raises that will be an annual cost. And even after the proposed repairs on White Pine School are done we are only half way there, not to mention any other needs.

And then there is the caveat of what happens to a town that was built around a government when the government pulls out in one fell swoop? Some would say that is a problem for the Town of Dandridge but I would contend that anything that could topple the center of one the municipalities is not good for the County and there is some responsibility to Dandridge. Is there a plan in place to fill those empty buildings, should a mass exodus occur? I look forward to seeing how the full body reacts when they convene in the New Year. It should make for an interesting start to 2016.