The Utility Service Board approved a motion to have General Manager Todd Corrie move forward and negotiate with the owner of the Regions Bank property located behind the Speedway Gas Station at 1405 E. Wabash Ave. on the east side of Frankfort at a special meeting Monday morning.
“This meeting was to put everything in place to make a formal offer to purchase the Regions Bank property that’s located in the shopping mall on the east side of Frankfort,” said USB Chairman Mike Kelley. “But, it ended up being a motion to allow Mr. (Todd) Corrie, the general manager, to negotiate up to no more than the average of the two appraisals that we got.”
Kelley said the average of those two appraisals wound up being up $175,000. He said the asking price was around $190,000.
“It’s not the only place in town,” said Kelley. “It’s not such that we have to have something. We’re able to function where we are. We just thought that maybe this would be a good opportunity for us to make it a little bit more convenient for our rate payers and patrons who have to come and pay bills with more parking and drive-up windows and that kind of thing.”
At a special meeting on July 24, the USB voted to seek two appraisals on the building, which has been vacant for some time. A resolution was passed to get the appraisals which is required for the purchase of real property by a government organization.
After that meeting, Kelley said “from almost day one of my association with the Utility Board, there has always been some kind of complaint about the Utility Billing Office. We can’t find a place to park to pay our bill, we can’t there when its open, why can’t you have a drive-up window. You’ve got an alley behind you.” Kelley said purchasing the old Regions building could solve a lot of problems.
Kelley added the board has been thinking about possibly trying to rehab the building on the west side of the Clinton County Courthouse. However, Kelley said when they looked into that possibility, the cost was “heftily expensive.”
The next regularly scheduled USB meeting is Monday, October 1, at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of Old Stoney.