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Commissioners authorize option to negotiate Lassiter site and hire Terracon for EMTOC feasibility study; vote records show dissent
Summary
After staff identified floodplain and soil concerns at two candidate sites, the Board authorized the County Manager to negotiate an option to purchase the Lassiter site (fee not to exceed $5,000 down) and to hire Terracon for feasibility studies; the transcript records one commissioner voting no and the chair abstaining.
Washington County commissioners authorized staff to pursue an option to purchase the Lassiter tract and to engage Terracon for site feasibility work for the county's planned Emergency Management/EMTOC facility, following a discussion of site conditions on Jan. 8.
After a closed session, Soil & Water Technician Chris Respass told the Board that the Lassiter site is in a higher floodplain and that the Weyerhaeuser property would require significant backfilling, though both sites are about 1.5 miles from Conaby Creek. Commissioner John C. Spruill commented that the Weyerhaeuser site has topsoil while the Lassiter site is hard clay and suggested Terracon assess both parcels. Commissioner Carol V. Phelps moved to authorize County Manager Curtis S. Potter "to negotiate an option to purchase the Lassiter site for a fee not to exceed $5,000 down and hire Terracon to do a feasibility study on both tracts." Spruill seconded.
The transcript records the vote as: "Motion carried 4‑1 with 3 ayes (Commissioners Phelps, Spruill, and Walker), 1 nay (Commissioner Johnson) and 1 abstained (Chair Keyes)." Those named votes as recorded are: Phelps (yes), Spruill (yes), Walker (yes), Johnson (no), and Chair Keyes (abstain). The motion was recorded as carried in the minutes.
The Board's action authorizes the manager to negotiate terms for an option payment not to exceed $5,000 and commits the county to fund and schedule geotechnical/environmental feasibility work by Terracon on both sites prior to any purchase decision. Commissioner Spruill had specifically requested that Terracon examine both tracts before finalizing site selection.
Next steps recorded in the meeting are for Manager Potter to negotiate the option and to commission the Terracon study; the county will report findings back to the Board for a future decision on acquisition or alternate siting.
