Van Zandt County authorizes steps toward purchase of 1930 Trade States Boulevard in Canton

Van Zandt County officials voted to authorize the county judge to sign a counterproposal to purchase the property at 1930 Trade States Boulevard in Canton and to proceed with evaluations of the building.

At an open session following an executive session, a presiding official said the contract the county signed last week "was not acceptable in the changes that we made," and that changes had been made so the contract would be acceptable to the owner. Christian K. moved to authorize the judge to sign a counterproposal for the purchase; a second was given and the motion was approved by voice vote.

The court then approved two additional, separate motions to advance the potential purchase: authorization for the county judge to select and sign a contract for a structural engineer to evaluate the property's structural integrity for the county's planned uses, and authorization for the county judge to select and sign a contract for a commercial appraisal to verify the building's value. Both motions were moved and seconded and passed by voice vote.

The transcript includes two different amounts tied to earnest money: when the item was introduced the presiding official said the county was to "authorize payment of $60,000 for earnest money," but the motion recorded aloud stated "authorize payment of $1,000 for earnest money." The meeting record does not specify which amount is the final contractual deposit; the motions as spoken passed by voice vote and did not record roll-call vote counts or named yes/no votes.

No deadline, purchase price, or seller name was stated in the open-session discussion. The county's next steps, as authorized, are to select contractors for the structural evaluation and the commercial appraisal; further contractual action or closing would be contingent on those evaluations and any additional approvals required by the county.