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Commission deadlocks on motion to hire commercial inspector for Masonic Lodge purchase
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners voted 11–11 on a motion to order a licensed commercial inspector to examine the Masonic Lodge before a July 2 deadline; the tie defeated the motion after commissioners debated whether inspection could be completed in the prescribed timeframe.
Chairperson Ginger Holdren opened the June 17 Board of County Commissioners meeting and commissioners spent part of the evening debating whether the county should hire a licensed commercial real estate inspector to evaluate the Masonic Lodge property the county is considering buying.
The motion — offered by Commissioner Robert Acuff and seconded by Commissioner Danny Deal — would have directed the mayor’s office to hire a licensed commercial inspector to complete an inspection of the Masonic property before 11:59 p.m. on July 2, with payment to come from the Commission’s Other Contracted Services line if performed before June 30 and otherwise from Unassigned Fund Balance.
The mayor, Patty Woodby, told commissioners an outside commercial inspection would likely take longer than the timetable in the motion and said she would try to see what could be accomplished. Woodby also cautioned about practical limits to quickly arranging a full commercial inspection. Several commissioners pressed the mayor on whether county staff members who had already inspected the property (Ron and Roy, as referenced during discussion) were adequate; Vice Chair Kelly Collins and others said their informal assessments were not equivalent to a licensed commercial inspection.
Commissioner Todd Smith questioned why the inspection step had not been taken earlier in the year, saying the process had already passed through multiple committees and suggesting the time window for the motion was too short. Chairperson Ginger Holdren said she was criticizing the timing of the vote rather than local staff capability, adding that “this step should have been taken months ago.”
The roll call was evenly split, with 11 votes in favor and 11 opposed; the motion therefore failed on a tie. The tie left the underlying purchase contract terms unchanged and no new, county-funded commercial inspection was commissioned under the motion considered that night.
Public comment earlier in the meeting had also included remarks urging the county to reconsider buying the building: Jerald Ward, speaking during the five-minute public-comment period, told commissioners he wanted the Masons to keep the property and to repair it, noting several community organizations meet there.
What happens next: The full commission did not adopt a direction to obtain an outside commercial inspection at the June 17 meeting. Commissioners and staff discussed further options and internal review steps; any future direction to hire a licensed inspector would require a new motion and a separate vote.
