From the briefcase: County negotiating courthouse buyout

BROOKHAVEN — Before Lincoln County Board Attorney Greg Malta latched his leather briefcase bag closed for the day he gave an update on the courthouse buyout. Supervisors discussed the buyout in executive session Monday morning.

The City of Brookhaven is moving out of the Lincoln County Courthouse. Under an interlocal agreement from when the courthouse was built, Lincoln County must buy the city’s 20 percent share in the courthouse.

Malta said appraisals for Lincoln County and the City of Brookhaven came in. They are now actively negotiating the buyout. At this time, Lincoln County did not feel the need to obtain a third appraisal from an independent third party appraiser.

Brookhaven’s appraisal determined the courthouse was worth $16,240,000 while Lincoln County’s appraisal was for $11,000,000. Malta said there is an important caveat in the figures.

“The City appraisal doesn’t account for depreciation of the structure. If we took out the depreciation, the numbers would be the same,” Malta said. “From a legal standpoint, the question is does it allow for depreciation to be accounted for. We think it does. We are trying to negotiate.”

Lincoln County’s Board of Supervisors motioned to offer $2.7 million to purchase the 20 percent ownership by the city which would be paid on December 5th, 2027.

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