When Habersham County commissioners rejected an agreement to rent a county-owned house to Parks and Recreation Department Director Brooke Whitmire, it raised many questions. The agreement would have gone unnoticed if Commissioner Jimmy Tench had not called for it to be publicly discussed during the October 16 county commission meeting.
Since that meeting, Now Habersham has learned more about the property at 4336 Toccoa Highway and the since rejected agreement.
Lease terms
The county purchased the property in March for a cash price of $140,000. The 2 bed, 1 bath house is 1,200-square-feet. It was built in the 1950s. The house sits on slightly less than an acre of land and has a detached two-story, two-car garage.
The property sits in front of the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center and another parcel of county-owned land to its east.
“The property was purchased because it is adjacent to property the county owns, and it will be held for future expansion,” explains Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn.
The two-year rental agreement proposed for Whitmire placed the monthly rent at $600. During the two-year period, Whitmire was to contribute a minimum of $3,000 in property improvements, equating to an additional $125 per month spread over 24 months.
According to rent.com, fair market rent for the property would be in the range of $1,000 to $1,900 per month. The median rent in the area is $1,250.
The county never publicly advertised that the property was for rent.
A ‘fixer-upper’
Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn says she was acting at the request of the board of commissioners when she tried to rent the property.
“The BOC instructed me to lease the property. I worked first with the Soque Watershed Association and drafted a lease, but the association found a different location to lease that better fit their needs,” Vaughn tells Now Habersham.
She adds, “I met with a second group to get feedback on possible renovations and ideas for commercial use, but county maintenance staff advised renovations to make the space suitable for commercial use would be too costly. Our Parks and Rec Director was interested in the space because it is located next to our facilities, and I felt this would be a good rental solution.”
Though Whitmire would have only paid $600 a month for the property, Habersham County Commission Chair Ty Akins says the preliminary agreement with SRWA included no rent payment at all. In exchange for the free space, the agency would have made upgrades to the property.
Akins felt no rent was unfair, even for a non-profit.
While the property is not falling down, it does need some work. Akins refers to it as a “fixer-upper.” He indicates that was the reasoning behind offering Whitmire a well below market rate.
“It needed some work,” he says.
Consent agenda
Not only did the county not post the property for rent, but commissioners did not discuss the matter ahead of last Monday night’s meeting.
“The Chairman did not feel this was necessary and asked it be placed on the consent agenda,” explains Vaughn.
Consent agendas are used to streamline meetings by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group and passing them with a single motion and vote. Akins says he placed the item on the consent agenda because he felt it would not be controversial and says he had no “ill intent.”
That’s not how it was perceived.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” says Commissioner Tench, “and when I saw it, I said there’s something wrong here. Why would you give the Rec. Dept. a house for somebody? I don’t understand that.”
At the meeting, Tench asked for the lease proposal to be removed from the consent agenda and placed under new business so it could be discussed. Commissioner Dustin Mealor made the motion to do that.
During the discussion, Vaughn defended the agreement, saying it was “completely appropriate” for the county to provide housing for an employee.
She pointed out that Whitmire lives in Banks County, and there are a lot of “after-hours events” at the county recreation department. She also acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in Habersham.
“I think it is absolutely beneficial for us to have Brooke right there next to the aquatic center,” said Vaughn.
Her arguments did not sway the board. After some back and forth, commissioners Tench, Mealor, and Bruce Harkness voted against the lease proposal. Akins and Commissioner Bruce Palmer voted for it.
Now what?
Since the lease was not approved, Vaughn says she is now waiting for instructions from the commissioners as to what the intended use for the property will be. She also says she does not know if the lease option will be revisited.
Tench and Harkness have both indicated they will not change their votes on the Whitmire lease, and Mealor tells Now Habersham, “I’m a no.”
Akins says he is reaching out to the commissioners to get a better idea of the direction they want to go with the property. Renting it is still a possibility, but he prefers to go with a non-profit until the commission moves forward with other opportunities in the future.
Asked if the county will advertise the property for rent in the future, Vaughn says, “It depends on the direction of the BOC and if it is legally required.”
