Commissioners clear way for property buys

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Morgan County Commission Chairman John Glasscock is in the process of negotiating for the purchase of a maintenance shop building for the Sheriff’s Office and a building site for the Morgan County Health Department.
The Morgan County Commission gave its approval for the transactions last week. Any purchase proposals have to be brought back to the commission for its consideration.
The action took place after Glasscock distributed copies of a proposed resolution authorizing the negotiation of a contract with Steve Fox Motors in Priceville for the purchase of a building and property to be used as a maintenance shop for sheriff’s department vehicles. The purchase price was listed at $430,000.
District No. 4 Commissioner Stacy George objected to putting the purchase of a maintenance shop ahead of buying land for a new county health department.
“I’m not going to vote to buy property for the health department unless we have a 50-50 partnership agreement with the city of Decatur,” District No. 3 Commissioner Kevin Murphy said.
George volunteered to meet with the chairman of the Decatur City Council to discuss a possible city-county partnership for the purchase of a suitable site in Decatur for a proposed new county health facility. He said there already has been some talk about pursuing the purchase of a tract of property on West Mouton Street.