Troup County OKs relocation of elections office to former high‑school band building

The Troup County Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 3 to relocate the county elections office to the former Troup High School band building and allocated funding to cover renovations and setup.

County Manager Jay introduced the proposal and invited James Anderson to describe the plan. Anderson said the budget is $104,500 and "that does include all of the renovation construction work it takes to get that building ready for him as well as it pays for the moving, the setting up of new furniture, the computers, the equipment, the security cameras, the fire alarm, the security alarm," and additional setup costs.

Commissioners asked about security and operations at the new site. One commissioner asked that there be "some kind of security out there for early voting and for the election when they move the poll like that way," and elections staff said they "plan on hiring an officer during the election day to stay with us all day" and could extend coverage to early voting if needed.

County Manager Jay clarified the funding source during the motion: the money for the relocation will come from the county's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) fund and asked staff to include that in the motion for auditing purposes. The Chair made the motion to approve the relocation with those stipulations; a second was recorded and the Chair announced the motion carried.

Next steps announced at the meeting include moving quickly to meet the timetable for spring elections and having county maintenance staff perform much of the renovation work rather than hiring a general contractor. The board did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript.