An empty city property will see new life as the Columbia Board of Aldermen agreed to an in-kind lease of property near the former Columbia Waterworks Building with the Columbia School District.
Earlier this month, aldermen voted unanimously to allow the school district to use the land, which was formerly used for the city barn and storage. City Attorney Lawrence Hahn explained how the process began.
“The school approached the mayor about using that area back there for school purposes,” he said. “This is the former city barn area. It started as the use of the shed and expanded from that.”
Mayor Justin McKenzie said that items that had been stored on the property had been moved to the new city barn, located at the old National Guard Armory on Sumrall Road.
“All of the vehicles are gone,” he said. “Earl (Turnage) and his crews will remove an old tank. The school wants to be able to use the old mechanic’s shed. They want to store their mowers and items there. They are also going to upgrade the area into a gravel parking lot. They will also work on the fence and put one up off of the Waterworks Building to an existing light pole.”
The lease and changes also allow for any future city use of the Waterworks Building as restoration work continues.
“Jeff (Dungan, engineer) wanted to make sure that if work continues, they have ample access without a fence getting in the way,” McKenzie said. “They are going to build a fence across and down, an eight-foot chain link fence. They want to be able to utilize the building to store their equipment safely. They are going to make improvements to the exterior of the building.”
McKenzie said the boards and their attorneys were looking at a five-year lease.
“It will have ample language that if anything were to transpire in regards to the Waterworks Building, that we have enough funds to move forward, that we can reclaim the property at any point,” he said.
Hahn said he had checked with state officials on the legality of such a lease.
“I’m OK on the city side from AG’s opinions and such,” he said. “Drew Foxworth, the Columbia School District attorney, has been doing some studying from the school’s side. Everybody is cooperating with everybody.”
Hahn said the school district may want to tear the open portion of the old city barn down. Several aldermen agreed, saying the structure is an eyesore.
“If they do that, it will be at their cost, but the tin and everything remains the city’s property,” Hahn said.
McKenzie said discussions have moved rapidly.
“I ran into Superintendent Jason Harris and Loren Monk (transportation director) when Earl and I were over inspecting the fence,” McKenzie said. “I was just telling Earl that I’d love to see the raggedy mess torn down and the fence taken up and moved closer to the building. They walked up and said, ‘Hey, we’re interested in something.’ We scheduled a meeting the following day with our attorneys on site. Alderman-at-Large Ed Hough joined us. They said they’re going to make improvements to the parking lot that I set out to make. The lease is for improvements.”
Hahn said the law allows the city to lease the property if it is used for educational, civic or social reasons.
“All of that language will be in the lease and it will be in the resolution that you approve,” he said. “The resolution will follow the lease and say that it is a partial donation for use strictly as educational, civic or social purposes. The fact that it is city property being used by the school advertises the quality of life and the promotion of business in the City of Columbia. That’s why you are doing a partial donation and partial consideration in terms of improvements.”
Hough said there were advantages to leasing the land to the school district.
“One of the best things about it is that they are going to keep it mowed and maintained,” he said.
The Columbia Board of Aldermen then unanimously approved the resolution allowing the lease on a motion by Ward 2 Alderman Jason Stringer that was seconded by Ward 3 Alderwoman Anna Evans.
The school district and city will continue to work out the details and work on the site is expected to begin soon.
Pictured Above: Things could look a lot different soon on the city property near the CHS athletic complex as the Columbia School District plans to use the property to store equipment and as additional parking on game nights. | Photo by Mark Rogers
