At Wednesday’s called meeting of the Nashville Town Council, Scott Garner of Dawson Construction Services delivered a report about the costs associated with converting the empty Fellowship Church building, located outside the town’s western limit, into a town hall building, complete with a council chambers and a recreation center.
Garner delivered a 12-page report to the council, indicating the renovations needed to repurpose the church facility was about $1.9 million. The council then inquired about what could be done to lower the cost estimate and ease its immediate impact.
One area of concern, according to Garner, is the building’s 20-year-old heating and cooling system that may cost the town in maintenance expenses in the future. The cost to replace the HVAC system is approximately $264,000.
In addition to the renovations, the town may have to increase the capacity of the property’s septic system to accommodate the increased demand. If so, Garner said that would cost the town an additional $75,000 to $300,000.
Garner said the availability of suitable soils for septic system drainage is a major factor in the cost of the septic system.
A report from Stocks Engineering presented at the June 18 meeting stated the projected cost of bringing town water and sewer to property was approximately $1.7 million. However, it was noted that the church’s well and septic system were in good working order.
Garner said the floor plan for the new town hall was not detailed in its specifications, and that a full set of plans might result in a need to adjust cost estimates.
Looking to save money initially, Councilwoman Kate Burns asked Town Manager Randy Lansing if the renovation to the second floor of the church facility was something that could be delayed.
Lansing said the need to move town operations from the current town hall on Barnes Street to the church facility isn’t immediate. But Lansing added that the town was running out of room at its Barnes Street building.
“Within the next five years, we’ll be out of room at town hall. We have one spare office there right now,” Lansing said.
At the June 18 town council meeting, the council decided to table a vote on the issue of purchasing the church for $1.5 million until its July 16 meeting in order to get more information about remodeling costs. The purchase plan calls for the town to pay $500,000 this fiscal year and then pay the remaining $1 million over the next two fiscal years.
The initial $500,000 payment is included as an expense in the town’s current budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Lansing said he would work on obtaining information from Nash County building inspections on the improvements that are necessary and have that information prior to the council’s next meeting.
Mayor Brenda Brown encouraged her fellow council members to tour the church building with Garner’s report in hand to determine what items could be cut from the renovation budget.
At the council’s June 18 meeting, Garner reported that the church building was in good shape for being constructed in 1989, stating it had a sound foundation and repairable roof.
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