As published in the Courier-Tribune on February 28, 2012
By Hugh Martin
TROY — An offer by Montgomery County to sell the county Agricultural Center building to Montgomery Community College has been turned back by MCC Trustees.
Discussion of the county’s offer was at a half-day retreat of the MCC Board of Trustees on Feb. 24.
The county offered the building, which is located on Glenn Road beside the new jail facility, to the college in exchange for five years of the new one-quarter cent sales tax that will be collected in the county starting April 1, 2012.
The proceeds from the tax are earmarked for use by MCC and Montgomery County Schools.
Expected receipts from the tax are estimated to be $50,000 per year for the college. At that rate, the cost of the building to the college would be $250,000.
The offer by the county is for the building itself and does not include any adjoining property for parking or any outdoor use, just the building and the land under the foundation it sits on.
MCC President Dr. Mary Kirk said she does not think the property is worth the price being asked by the county. The college trustees agreed.
“That $50,000 a year is needed on campus for upkeep,” Kirk said. “Especially if there will be no increase in local funding.”
Trustees approved plans to use the tax proceeds for repairs and maintenance of the existing campus.
The Agricultural Center was constructed in the 1970s primarily to be used for agricultural activities. As those activities have decreased over the years, most of the space has been used as a storage facility for the county with less than half of the building used for meetings and activities.
Local groups have used the outdoor arena area for demolition derbies for a number of years. Livestock shows have returned to the facility as of two years ago.
MCC currently uses a part of the facility for Department of Correction employee training 38 weeks a year. There have been instances when the college was unable to use the building on short notice because of scheduling conflicts. The college acknowledges their use has often created conflicts for other agencies.
Alternative locations for the DOC training are being discussed, including the old school gymnasiums in Biscoe and Brutonville.
Kirk says that another option could be updating the multi-purpose area in Building 200 by removing the old portable wall system and replacing them with permanent walls. NC DOC could then use the center portion of the area for training.
The old wall system has developed many problems, both mechanical and aesthetic. Kirk said that it takes the entire maintenance department at least four hours to move the walls around. The cost of replacing the moveable walls would be around $750,000.
Trustee Claudia Bulthuis suggested that the college may not want to begin owning property off campus.
“We have a hard time keeping up the facilities we already own,” she said.
Trustee Earle Connelly says that the agriculture building is not worth the amount being asked. He has researched the possibility of constructing a similar 3,000 square foot building on campus and said it could be done for around $40 per square foot.
Dr. Kirk said if the county would lower the cost to $100,000 to $150,000, the college would consider purchasing the building, moving the welding and metal engraving programs there and begin offering a program in masonry.
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