School Board Makes Generous Offer to City

Free Office Space In Perpetuity for Central City Hall, Service Providers

by Woody Jenkins, Editor

CENTRAL — The Central Community School Board has made the City of Central an amazing offer — an offer that could result in great savings to the taxpayers of the city for many years to come.

It is an offer worthy of serious consideration by our city fathers.

The school board plans to tear down most of the buildings that comprised the old Central Middle School.  But it will keep and renovate the three buildings there that are structurally sound and most suitable for future use.

One of those buildings — the L-shaped CMS administration building facing Sullivan Road — will be used by the School Board as its central office.

However, the back half of that building — nearly 20,000 square feet — is being offered by the school board to the City of Central to use free of charge in perpetuity.

All the city would have to do is  renovate the building according to the city’s plans and pay for the utilities.  The facilities could include any or all of the following:

• Central City Hall

• Central Municipal Services center

• Post Office

• Clerk of Court

• Registrar of Voters

• Drivers License office

• Library

• Police Department

The city currently leases office space for City Hall on Hooper Road and pays IBTS to operate the Central Municipal Services center on Sullivan Road near Greenwell Springs Road.

The school board’s offer may or may not fit with the city’s plan to develop a City Center for Central.

The city has engaged the former Moore Planning Group, now called ERM or Environmental Research Group, to make recommendations regarding a city center.  So far, ERM has identified seven possible sites in Central for a city center.  One of those sites is the old Central Middle School site.

Last week Mayor Mac Watts, chief administrative officer David Barrow, Mayor Pro-Tem Ralph Washington, and Councilman Tony LoBue toured the old Central Middle School site and considered the possibilities.

Barrow said Wednesday it is still early to know what the city will want to do.

He said the city may decide to locate City Hall on a tract where there could be a lake, a park, a theatre, and a commercial development.  Nevertheless, he said, the school board offer is very much under consideration.

Our own view is that the Central School Board’s offer is very appealing and very hard to pass up.

Central has taken a conservative, low-cost approach to running city government.  That has proven to be very wise in these tough times.  While other city governments are struggling, Central is very much in the black.  The school board’s offer is a very practical, economical approach to the city’s need for facilities for the next 20 to 30 years.

We hope the city will say, “Great idea!  Thank you!  We accept!”