The Clarkesville City Council agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during their work session Monday afternoon. The MOU was issued by the Habersham County Development Authority.
The MOU was issued last week to the city, the county, the Tax Assessors Board, and the Tax Commissioner to inform all parties of the pending sale and redevelopment. It outlines the intended development of the vacant building by Atlanta developer Parkside Partners, LLC.
SEE RELATED: Clarkesville will discuss possible sale/renovation of old courthouse
City Manager Keith Dickerson explained to the City Council that he sent a copy of the MOU to an outside attorney to review the document. He stated that there is no liability for the city. “The plus in this is it’s going to go through our Planning and Zoning. It’s going to go through our permitting process and we will have some control in doing that,” Dickerson stated.
He added that the agreement is a lease and the document states that there will be a tax deferment. Dickerson explained that since it’s a lease, it’s still county property. Once the project is completed, the development will be reassessed and converted to normal assessments.
According to Dickerson, there will be taxes paid during the lease period but that agreed amount will be determined between the parties involved and the Tax Assessor’s office. “The abatements are going to be relatively small considering we (the city) get nothing off of it at this point in time anyway,” he stated.
No apartments
Dickerson told the council that there was an addition he wanted to make on the MOU. He stated that he had not discussed the matter with any of the parties involved. He explained that the MOU states that there will be family housing in the building. “We have specifically told them we do not want apartments there. I would put no apartments there and have her (the Mayor) sign it,” Dickerson stated.
He explained that he didn’t care if they had short-term rentals there or a rental unit there. He just didn’t want apartments there. “I feel like we have made that clear,” Dickerson stated.
As for water and sewer, Dickerson explained that will have to be determined because the developer hasn’t brought any plans to the city. However, he thinks the city can meet their needs based on what they have very “roughly” presented.
Best plan for Clarkesville
Mayor Barrie Aycock asked if there was a motion. Council member Don Nix made the motion to move forward and to put in the signature line no apartments. The motion was seconded by Council member Franklin Brown. Aycock opened the floor for discussion. Brown stated “I think this is the best plan at this time for the city of Clarkesville.”
Nix added, “It’s a spark plug for downtown. It leads to more investment from other private enterprises. I think we need that.”
After the discussion, the council unanimously approved the MOU.
After the meeting, the Mayor had this to say about the MOU, “I am pleased with the plans to redevelop the old courthouse property. We believe that Parkside Partners has the experience and the expertise to take that building and transform it into an attractive development that will be an asset to our city.” Aycock stated.
She added, “Personally I was concerned that we had committed to pledge a significant amount of City reserves to demolish the courthouse building. Based on the cost of building construction today, there is little to no hope that a developer would be interested in any type of new construction in the near future. It’s just too expensive!”
