Commission votes to bid Public Safety renovations

The Chester County Commission met Monday evening in continuation of the temporarily recessed Nov. 6, 2023 meeting. The evening’s agenda concerned proposed locations for the Election Commission offices, early voting and equipment storage. The Commission recessed the previous meeting to allow time for County Mayor Barry Hutcherson and Administrator of Elections Kathy Vest to acquire additional information regarding a potential move and for renovation of the Public Safety Building.
Sixteen Commissioners were in attendance, with Johnny Garner and Tim Crowe absent.
Mayor Hutcherson shared a letter from an engineer which identified certain walls in the Public Safety Building as non-loadbearing, and therefore candidates for removal.
Vest reported back that the owner of the proposed Antique Mall location on Whitley Ave. had not shown interest in reducing the lease time to three years as had previously been suggested by the commission. Vest also addressed the option to relocate to the Public Safety Building, explaining that the issues which still stand include potential damage to the equipment due to high humidity, and a lack of secure storage for early voting. Other concerns mentioned were handicap accessibility, parking, and possible relocation of UT Extension, which is currently housed upstairs in the Public Safety Building.
In clarification of earlier discussions, UT Extension Agent Steve Rickman stated the UT Extension offices will not be relocating to the future agriculture facilities at the fairgrounds, as has been suggested. He explained the facility will consist of a covered arena and will not include office space. At this time, UT Extension has no plans to relocate, or relocation options.
Vest also shared that on top of the aforementioned concerns and preparations for the upcoming election year, the Elections Assistance Commission is set to audit various Election Commissions this year in Tennessee, potentially Chester County could be among those audited.
Mayor Hutcherson addressed the commission, sharing another option, the option to complete the work on the Public Safety Building, in house, utilizing the county maintenance department. With this option, he said, the work could be done with less cost than hiring out, and possibly be completed in less time.
Commissioner Renee Phelps made a motion to lease the Hometown building at a five-year, $3,000 per month (minus the first few months at no charge) lease. The motion failed 10/6, with commissioners Dwight Bingham, Renee Phelps, Barry Smith, Brenda Matthews, Tod Lewis and Ricky Hardy voting in favor.
Carolyn Higgins later made a motion to proceed with the optional plan set out by the mayor, utilizing the county maintenance to complete the Public Safety project. The motion failed 9/6, with Kevin Faulkner, Bubba Edgin, Al McKinnon, Jerry King, Andrea Holland, Ann Moore, Carolyn Higgins, Jerry Emerson and Mike Alexander voting in favor and Jerry Lowe passing on the vote.
Finally, a motion was made by Bubba Edgin and seconded by Dwight Bingham to bid out renovations to the portion of the Public Safety Building designated for the Election Commission. The motion carried with 16 votes, all in favor.
The next meeting of the Chester County Commission will be Jan. 16, 2024.
Watch the complete meeting on chestercountyindependent.com