Old SCHS building may be demolished

Bedford County Board of Commissioners voted earlier this month to board up the old Harris Middle School/Central High School building on Elm Street, but the commission's courthouse and property committee is now talking about tearing it down altogether.

Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman said his department would be willing to take on the demolition as an off-season project, if the county could reimburse labor costs. He said that offer is dependent on there not being asbestos or other hazardous materials in the building.

Smotherman said it would take "an astronomical amount of money" to renovate the building and that the county would probably have more success selling an attractive lot rather than selling the building to someone who would have to pay to demolish it anyway.

Commissioners Billy King and Joe Tillett both said they've been told that all the asbestos was removed from the building during previous projects, although Tillett said he's not sure if that includes flooring.

The committee said an environmental assessment is needed before the demolition can proceed. Committee member Linda Yockey moved to recommend to the full commission that such an assessment be conducted and that, if it's favorable, the highway department be allowed to demolish the building.

The demolition (and any future sale of property) would affect only the main, two-story classroom building. The county school system is using the single-story annex as Bedford County Learning Academy, and the City of Shelbyville has agreed to lease the gymnasium and other athletic facilities. The county plans to keep those portions of the site.

Meanwhile, the county's building consultant, Bud Melson, has recommended that the old Bedford County Medical Center be only partially boarded up due to the parts of it that are still being used by Bedford County Nursing Home. County Mayor Eugene Ray said that there have been a few potential inquiries about buying the hospital building.

"We've got some interest in it," said Ray.

On the other side of the hospital are two empty lots and two county-owned buildings that are now being used by The Next Step Home. Although the county had agreed some time ago to let The Next Step Home use the houses, the lease agreement has apparently not yet been formalized, and in the meantime the county has been paying utility costs.

The committee voted to ask the county attorney to draw up a formal lease agreement which would shift those utility costs to the non-profit agency. The committee also asked that if The Next Step Home does not need an unsightly storage building on the property, the county be allowed to demolish it.