Following a special meeting between the Clinton County Commissioners and the Clinton County Council regarding the future of the former Regions Bank building, both entities have decided to wait a few more days before making a decision.
On Tuesday morning, the Clinton County Council will have their regularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m., followed by a special meeting of the Commissioners around 10:15 a.m.
“We’re going to have a special meeting to vote on which direction we’re going to go,” said Commissioners President Jordan Brewer. “The decision comes down if we’re going to renovate that Regions building or tear down and build a new facility there.”
During the meeting, it appeared as though the Commissioners were ready to vote while at least four County Council members wanted “time to digest all the information they learned.”
“I think that’s fair because the Commissioners at different points and time have had tours of the (Regions) building,” said County Council President Alan Dunn. “They are the ones that get called when they have an issue with the building not the Council. They’ve had a little bit more knowledge of what’s been going on inside that building and with some of the issues we’ve been finding.”
Some of those issues are related to a water main break last winter which flooded a lot of the building which resulted in some other things.
“I think the Commissioners were leaning towards building a new because honestly it makes the most economic sense, it makes the most operational sense and it will have a new 30-year life for this community,” said Brewer. “With the water infiltration, the mold remediation and the potential asbestos as well as the integrity of the buildings, we have a lot of unknowns versus new.”
Dunn said he thinks a new building is the way to go.
“My personal feeling is that we want to move forward with new construction of the annex building on the site of the current Regions building and we want to do that as a three-story building,” said Dunn. “It gives the county some room to grow over the next 30 years. That’s what we’re really looking at is what our administrative building needs will be over the next generation.”