County, schools appoint panel for Claxton site sale
Members of the Anderson County Commission appointed a task force during the May 18 meeting to oversee the sale of the Claxton Elementary School site after the new school is completed. The task force includes four county commissioners and three members of the county Board of Education. (photo:Ben Pounds )
The Anderson County Commission and Anderson County Schools have selected members for the task force.
The County Commission approved Commissioners Chad McNabb, Tracy Wandell, Denise Palmer and Sabra Beauchamp to serve on the task force at its May 18 meeting.
At the same meeting, commissioners accepted Board of Education members Scott Gillenwaters, Jo Williams and Katherine Birkbeck, who were presented to the commission by Director of Schools Tim Parrott.
The commission discussed adding a fourth school board member to maintain balance, but did not vote on or name that member.
County Mayor Terry Frank and Parrott will serve ex-officio.
The current school is at 2218 Clinton Highway, but Parrott has said the building has safety and security issues.
Anderson County Schools plans to replace it with a new facility at 105 Fellowship Lane, which is under construction.
Parrott has said he hopes to sell the current site for an estimated $4 million to offset construction costs for the new school.
During an earlier work session, Parrott said the system could sell the property to the highest bidder, but favors issuing a request for proposals, or RFP, so officials could consider how buyers plan to use the land.
Frank said the task force will need to consult with county Law Director James Brooks about how much it can restrict future uses of the property.
Jason Deal, owner of JD’s Realty and Auction, told the commission at its May 18 meeting that the process — whether through an RFP or auction — should be competitive and transparent, and avoid imposing too many limitations on potential buyers.
After the comments, Commissioner Michael Foster made a motion for Deal to address the task force, and Commissioner Jerry White seconded it.
The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote, even though it was not listed on the meeting agenda. Commissioners Ebony Capshaw and Steven Verran were not present for the votes.
“One of the biggest mistakes public entities make is unintentionally limiting the buyer pool before the market has had an opportunity to fully respond,” Deal said.
He said properties like the old Claxton Elementary site could attract a variety of buyers.
“They can attract developers, educational groups, medical users, EMS providers, mixed-use redevelopment opportunities and sometimes, as we’ve seen, the highest bidder is someone we didn’t even anticipate,” he said.
Deal said that while he would like for his company to be involved, what mattered most was giving “the market the opportunity to fully respond.”
