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Madison County weighs conveying or leasing Highway 98 water tower to Danielsville to avoid upkeep costs
Summary
County staff told commissioners the Highway 98 water tower is an unused asset needing significant maintenance (estimated $135,000–$150,000) and recommended offering conveyance or lease options to the City of Danielsville with maintenance and decommission clauses to remove a county liability.
County staff presented Carter & Slooh’s water-asset study and told the board that the Highway 98 water tower is currently unused, not pressurized for system integration and needs five-year maintenance estimated at $135,000 to $150,000 to clean and repaint the structure.
Christina explained that the tower sits on property adjacent to the EMS station within Danielsville’s service delivery area and that the city has expressed interest in using it for fire protection to serve schools, government buildings and neighborhoods. Commissioners discussed options including sale or permanent conveyance, a long-term lease (for example, a nominal lease payment plus maintenance obligations), or a transfer subject to reverter/decommissioning conditions if the city fails to maintain the asset.
Legal staff noted that a conveyance or lease to a municipality is an exception to ordinary disposition rules but recommended clear contractual language obligating the transferee to maintain and, if required, decommission the structure to avoid returning an eyesore/liability to the county. Commissioners asked staff to draft both a conveyance and a lease option for the city to choose and to return with a draft intergovernmental agreement for board consideration and for review by the City of Danielsville’s governing body.
Next steps: county attorney to draft conveyance/lease options subject to Danielsville’s approval; staff to circulate options to commissioners by email before the next formal action.
