The Old Schoolhouse in Mt. Airy is getting new life breathed into it as the city council votes to begin the process of moving city hall into the historic building.
The Mt. Airy City Council approved the plan last night during an emergency called meeting. It includes contracting with Habersham Electric Membership Corporation to lay fiber optic cable for high speed internet access to the school building located at 1231 Dick’s Hill Parkway.
Mt. Airy houses operations for the Georgia Crime Information Center and reliable internet access is vital to GCIC’s work. Mt. Airy Mayor Gary Morris says they started having trouble with their internet service at city hall a few weeks ago and that prompted the emergency meeting and move.
Since Mt. Airy contracts with GCIC to house its services, he says the city was left with two options, “Lose a customer or get out there as quick as we can.” He adds, “This (the internet trouble) has caused us to do some things quickly but it hasn’t cost us more than it would if we waited for three months.”
Morris says he hopes to have GCIC and the Mt. Airy Police Department moved into the old schoolhouse within the next five weeks. City Council Chambers and all other employees, including City Clerk, are expected to be moved into the new location by the first of the year.
Council member Ray McAllister says relocating Mt. Airy City Hall to the old Mt. Airy schoolhouse is something the council has talked about for years. “This has our momentum moving forward,” Morris says. “We need to keep up the momentum. This has caused us to do some things quickly but it hasn’t cost us more than it would if we waited for three months.”
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This initial phase of the move is expected to cost the city between $30,000-$45,000. Morris says approximately $18,000 of that is for internet. He says HEMC has agreed to spread out the cost over five years. “The income we receive from GCIC will cover that,” he says.
Council members say they hope to rent out the old city hall to a business once the move is complete. Plans also call for the upstairs part of the schoolhouse to be renovated into a community center.
The urgency of the move doesn’t faze Morris. In fact, he welcomes it. “This is my baby and I’m excited about this. It’s been a long time coming”
