Efforts continue to save former Extension building

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By Christa Jennings
Senior staff writer

During Wednesday morning’s County Commission meeting, the Historical Society once again made a plea for saving the old Extension office building, this time presenting the Commission with signed petitions.

Sheila Ward, president of the Historical Society, addressed the Commission on behalf of the society and the “many citizens who have voiced their support” by signing the Historical Society’s petition to save the former Extension building.

“As plans for its demolition move forward without a clear purpose, we ask you to reconsider, recognizing the building’s potential to serve our county and honor its past,” Ward said.

Ward mentioned that in September the society addressed the Commission with a request to donate or lease the former Extension Office building to the society, but that request was not accepted.

“When we presented our original request, our main goal was and still is to save this historic building,” she said. “This structure is more than just bricks and mortar; it is a testament to our shared history, craftsmanship and civic spirit. This building has beautiful woodwork and is in good condition.”

She mentioned the Commission’s previous discussions and proposed plans for razing the building to eventually add on a courthouse annex or make the space into a parking lot in the meantime. However, the Commission has not yet taken official action regarding any specific plan for utilizing the property once the building is demolished.

“This building is usable for any department or organization to utilize,” Ward told the Commission. “There is no need to demolish this beautiful building for possibly 10 parking spaces maximum.”

She added that the Historical Society would be interested in being housed in that building rather than the driver’s license building where the society currently has office space.

“The Commission has always supported the Historical Society and provided a place for us, which we are thankful and appreciative,” she said. “Our current office and resource room are very inadequate for us. Over the years our records have expanded, as well as our historical resources and artifacts.”

She added, “However, our main interest today is to save this beautiful building from being destroyed. We have a total of over 240 signatures that we have gathered in just a couple of weeks. People feel that they have been misled about the reasoning behind the demolition of the building. Again, we are asking you to reconsider demolishing this building and utilizing it for some purpose instead.”

Ward said that the Historical Society urges the Commission to recognize the “value and potential” of the former Extension building.

“By choosing preservation over demolition, you honor the wishes of countless citizens and safeguard a piece of Coosa County’s history for generations to come,” Ward said. “Thank you for your consideration and continued support of the Coosa County Historical Society and our shared commitment to preserving what makes our county unique.”

Ward handed the Historical Society’s collected signed petitions to the Commission for review and reference.

Commission Chair Lamar Daugherty asked Ward how she felt that people were misled about the building, and Ward mentioned the original intent to expand the courthouse.

“That is the original long-term plan, but funding is the issue on not jumping into construction right now,” Daugherty said. “We have had architects look at it and tell us what it would take to expand and also tell us things that need to be done to the existing courthouse before you can attach a building to it. So all that goes back to the funding. It was definitely not anything to mislead anyone.”

He mentioned that previously the Commission has presented evidence of power and water bills, as well as mold issues in the building and statements from Auburn University saying they couldn’t house employees in the building because of safety reasons.

In ongoing discussion, Daugherty asked if the Historical Society would be interested in buying and moving the building, mentioning that they would not need the basement, just the top floor. He said it was an option that could be looked into.

He added that the county is not doing anything with the building right away, so the Historical Society has time to look into that and see if it is feasible.

Ward mentioned that the Historical Society does not own any land that it could move the building to, and Daugherty said since they are not doing anything right away it gives the society time to look at properties that might be available nearby.

“I think you could probably work with somebody,” he said. “If there’s this many people that’s wanting that building, I think you can find a place to put it, if that was even a doable option.”

He added that where the building sits, the county is landlocked with the courthouse and that the site of the former Extension building is the only property they have with the courthouse to do anything with regarding any future growth.

“It’s nothing against the building,” Daugherty said. “It’s nothing against those 200 citizens. It’s nothing against the Historical Society. It’s just not feasible for us to continue maintaining that building.”

Following discussion he said that the Historical Society will have time over the “next couple of months or so” to look into that option and see if purchasing and moving the building is a feasible option for the society.

“I don’t want to cause any grief in the community,” he said, “but I also want the community to understand that that building has been deemed uninhabitable by several companies.”

In other business, the Commission unanimously approved the purchase of a Medlite Transport Basic for the Emergency Management Agency to use with its recently acquired side-by-side vehicle. The total with shipping would be $3,590 for the Medlite Transport Basic insert.

In a letter of support from EMS Director Hollie Osbourn, she stated, “This equipment would be an invaluable asset, enabling both departments to safely access and extract patients from areas that are otherwise extremely dangerous and difficult to reach by traditional modes of transportation.”

She recommended the county consider approving the purchase by the county EMA as it would “greatly benefit Coosa County and its citizens by enhancing emergency response capabilities in difficult terrain.”

The Commission also unanimously approved the one bid received for a pneumatic dry bulk tanker from Polar Tank Trailer for $79,991 for the Highway Department, to be paid from the Road and Bridge Fund.

In discussion it was stated that purchasing the bulk tanker would result in the Highway Department spending approximately $96,000 less from the gas tax fund within the first year.

In other business the Commission also unanimously approved appointing Terry Mitchell to the Lake Martin Industrial Development Authority Board to fill a vacancy created by Douglas Hoytt’s resignation.

The Commission also discussed the possibility of the Highway Department doing grade work at the Kellyton Volunteer Fire Department’s site on U.S. Highway 280 by Forbus Auto Sales where the department plans to build its new station and storage building.

Following discussion, the matter was tabled to the December 9 meeting to give the Commission time to look into it further, with county attorney John K. Johnson advising that they first check to see if money can be pulled from other sources rather than pulling it from the general fund.

Also during the meeting, the Commission approved Sheriff Michael Howell’s request to add longevity pay for his employees to the agenda.

Howell explained that the county’s E-911 Board has agreed to provide longevity pay to telecommunicators at the Sheriff’s Office. However, Howell said that he wanted to make it fair across the board and provide it to all of his employees, proposing to give them what is in line with what the E-911 Board has agreed to pay the telecommunicators, as the E-911 Board can only provide for telecommunications.

He explained that he would utilize $4,000 from the Sheriff’s Office discretionary fund and moving $3,500 from one budget line item to the salary line item to accommodate the longevity pay. This would allow longevity pay for all Sheriff’s Office employees except for the sheriff himself.

Following discussion, the Commission unanimously approved the Sheriff’s Office longevity pay as discussed.

Also during the meeting, under public comment, Torrey Jones introduced himself as the new Goodwater Town Council member for Seat 2.

In other business, in discussion items by commissioners, District 2 Commissioner Bertha K. McElrath stated, “Over the past weeks concerns have been raised about the leadership of the Commission after being addressed by citizens reading the Coosa newspaper on October 24, 2025. I want to address those concerns openly. We know that leadership requires hard choices and ones that may not please everyone, but are made to ensure fairness and accountability in how we serve our citizens. Past couple of Commission meetings and decisions that were discussed was about performance, responsibility and accountability. I understand the frustration that anyone would have felt, but I stand by the integrity of our process and by duty to act in the best interest of the county. The following day I received calls, practically all day, concerning what was written in the paper, and I’m aware that people can write whatever they want. Much of what was written I find to be untrue. I have been in distress because it has taken years to build trust with the citizens and our constituents in my district. To write a three-page report of false and/or misleading information was not a good decision. Though it took me some time to read it, but I read it over and over again. I’ve taken a little time to highlight what was untrue and to reaffirm my statement at any given time to anyone want to do so. I did attend Auburn University classes for Commission to complete 50 mandate hours, the graduate courses and not least but sessions of the intense economic development courses, also to sit on NACo’s steering committees, Board of Directors and much more, but to be talked down is disrespect. So don’t ever think it’s acceptable. The work that has been done in District 2 speaks for me, and the other commissioners can attest to what they do. My record and even the record of the commissioners show a commitment to the community in which we serve, honest work, ethical decisions, and progress for everyone. So that being said, can we all move forward from this day? That’s all I have to say.”

Also under discussion items by commissioners, Chair Daugherty followed up on the status of previously approved items, reviewing a list with County Administrator Amy Gilliland and others, as well as other ongoing projects.

McElrath also asked about holding a work session to discuss the former National Guard armory in Goodwater, stating that the Commission could get information from department heads regarding what they would want.

With brief discussion, Daugherty said they would hold a work session following the next Commission meeting to discuss the facility.

The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Coosa County Commission will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, December 9. The audio recording of this month’s meeting is available to subscribers here.

Editor’s note: The newspaper records the meetings and just included in the newspaper the spoken word of the meeting. It is not the newspaper’s job to determine if the spoken word is truthful or not, but rather to simply report on what was said and action taken at the meeting. Although McElrath mentioned highlighting inaccuracies in the article, she did not say what those were, and no one at any time contacted the newspaper regarding corrections needing to be run. The audio recording of the October County Commission meeting has now been made accessible to all at www.thecoosacountynews.com.