Officials agree: County owns courthouse, city streets
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That was the tentative agreement made last night after city and county officials gathered in a joint Building and Grounds Committee meeting.
Sparking the debate was a controversy generated by the removal of parking signs around the courthouse by County Executive Kenneth Rogers in January.
Complicating the issue was speculation between the city and county about property ownership immediately around the courthouse as discussions progressed about parking enforcement there.
In last night’s agreement, which is subject to full Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Warren County Commission approval, city and county officials decided to quit-claim deeds to each other.
The arrangement was that the county would ultimately be able to claim ownership for property located inside the sidewalks located immediately around the courthouse, from the outside edge of the sidewalks in. The city would lay claim to everything else after quit-claim deeds were made legal.
County Building and Grounds Chairman Carl Bouldin was pleased with the results of the meeting and the cooperation shown between the two legislative committees.
“I think it went great,” Bouldin said. “This is exactly what needed to have been done from the beginning. It’s really good to work with the city on this.”
City officials agreed.
“I think it’s the best thing we’ve done,” city Building and Grounds Committee Chair Michael Chrisawn said. “We got together and worked things out in an amicable way. That’s what we need to be doing on a lot of other things too.”
Chrisawn said the parking arrangement – which was the result of a decades-old agreement between both governments for the city to enforce parking – will remain the same for the time being.
“I would say it probably will unless the county requests additional parking places and then we’ll take a look at it. That’s more or less what we’ve said all along, that if they need additional reserved parking, then we’ll take a look at it and see if it fits in with the needs of the area,” Chrisawn added.
Though an agreement between the city and county about policing the area had been in existence for decades, no deeds had ever been formally drawn up, according to Alderman Patti Nunley. Both city and county officials feel formal documents will prevent any kind of possible questions about ownership in the future.