Commission to consider demolishing deteriorated horse barn at Houston County Farm Center

Chair introduced Item 2 and asked Tommy Dixon to update the commission on the horse barn. Dixon said much of the useful wood was salvaged and repurposed inside the Farm Center, but that remaining walls and doors are missing or falling off and the structure appears to be used intermittently by transient individuals.

“We most of the wood's gone off the walls… the doors are falling off, and they're weathered and brittle,” Dixon said, adding that rebuilding the barn would require significant expense and that the structure is becoming a safety hazard. He asked the commission to approve demolition and noted county crews could fit the work into rainy-day maintenance schedules.

Commissioners asked whether materials removal had been authorized and who had taken salvaged items; staff said some materials were turned over to the construction team and other pieces appear to have been taken by unknown parties. A commissioner suggested listing remaining salvageable items on a marketplace, but Dixon said most useful material already had been retained for other county uses.

The commission agreed to add the demolition request to Monday's agenda for formal action; no objections were recorded during the meeting.

Why it matters: Demolition removes a potentially hazardous structure but also disposes of a piece of county property. The commission will need to weigh demolition costs, any salvage value, and inclusion of demolition in maintenance budgets.

Next steps: The demolition item will appear on the Monday agenda for formal approval and scheduling.