The state is willing to remove a “public use” deed restriction and allow the county to pay fair market value for the Cherry Hill Community Center property on Cookeville Highway.
During Monday night’s meeting, County Mayor Tim Stribling informed the county commission that the excess land committee of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Right of Way Division met in January and granted approval clearing the way for the county’s outright ownership of the Cherry Hill Community Center property.
Although the state deeded the 0.24 acre site to DeKalb County in August, 1981, a restriction currently requires the county to use the property for public purposes. After taking control of the site in the 1980’s the county constructed the Cherry Hill Community Center there. In recent years community interest in the center has waned and the building is now in need of repairs. Members of the county commission have expressed an interest in either disposing of the property or leasing it.
In order to have the “public use” deed restriction removed and for the county to assume total control of the property, the county commission recently authorized County Mayor Stribling to file with the Tennessee Department of Transportation an application for “Conveyance of Interest of Surplus TDOT Right of Way”.
County Mayor Stribling explained that this process requests the state to ascertain the fair market value of the property should the county decide to purchase it.
“The committee has determined that the public use restriction can be released if fair market value is paid by the county. Your request has been recommended for approval and will now proceed to the environmental and appraisal processes. After all necessary approvals have been obtained you will be issued and executed a release of all restrictions,” according to a letter to the county from TDOT’s Right of Way Division.
“The way they explained it was they will send an individual out from the state and they will take a look at the Cherry Hill property. If they think the value of it is below $10,000 then the state TDOT office in Chattanooga will come up and do the appraisal on the land only. If they think the property is valued at more than $10,000 then they would get an independent appraiser to come up. If we do buy the property at fair market value then that restriction for public use will be removed from the deed,” said County Mayor Stribling.
The county is not required to buy the property from the state even after the fair market value is determined.
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