Building sale proceeds may go to industrial park

Bedford County Board of Commissioners' courthouse and property committee gave its recommendation to a proposal that a building on North Main Street, jointly owned by Shelbyville and Bedford County, be sold and the proceeds applied towards the cost of developing an industrial park.

Shelbyville City Council member Lee Roy Cunningham appeared before the committee Tuesday night to propose the transaction.

The home has been used for various purposes over the years; it was at one time the home of the Child Development Center and later served as a safe house for interviewing suspected child abuse victims. North Main Street has become Shelbyville's fastest-growing retail corridor, and Cunningham said he believes the site would bring $300,000 which could be used to purchase property east of Shelbyville, along the route of the new bypass, for an industrial park. The proposed industrial site is being studied by Tennessee Valley Authority, said Cunningham.

"This needs to be a ... joint venture," Cunningham said, stressing the need for city and county cooperation.

Local industrial recruiter Walt Wood and TVA experts have said the county needs publicly-owned industrial sites to be able to market to potential industries.

Commissioner Jeff Yoes moved to send the proposal on to the full county commission with the committee's recommendation.

In other discussion, County Mayor Eugene Ray reported that half of the power to the county courthouse had gone out on Monday when a surge protection system failed. Ray also reported on a water leak at the old Bedford County Medical Center on Union Street. Utilities have now been shut down to the building except for the kitchen areas, which are still being used by the adjoining nursing home.