HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_0579 (2)"As an alternative, the county should consider purchasing five to ten acres of vacant land in or
near Mooresville and construct a new building with one level.
"Recently, the newly constructed Agricultural Services Building located on Bristol Road was
dedicated. This building has almost 25,000 square feet of usable space and is very efficient. Cost of this
building as less than $2.5 million. A new building somewhat similar in construction and functional
utilization to the Agricultural Building would provide space for the present and future for 10 to 20 years
or more, at a reasonable initial cost. With the energy efficient factors, operating cost would be much
lower than using an older building. A new building with adequate land for parking and possible future
expansion would cost no more than the proposed purchase of the old Lowrance Hospital building with
upgrading of 25,000 square feet or less of usable space.
"I would also like to point out that when the Lowrance Hospital was sold to the Mooresville
Hospital Management (Lake Norman Regional Hospital) in 1985 for $3,600,000, all of the money
received was used by the Town of Mooresville in constructing the downtown civic center and in
developing a South Iredell Industrial Park.
"It is hoped you will consider the ultimate tax savings and continued tax revenues that could be
derived from building a new building for the Mooresville area rather than purchasing an older building
that would require untold ongoing expenses."
-----End of Ur. Dellinger's Remarks -----
Wayne Frick (advocate), Director of the Mooresville Downtown Development
Commission, said that a year ago a study was conducted on what Mooresville needed to do for
future revitalization of the downtown area. He said his commission did not specify that it
wanted to include the former hospital property in the study; however, it was later learned how
much the site played in the revitalization since the downtown area only encompassed 2.5 blocks.
Frick said he wanted the Iredell County commissioners to consider the hospital site as "a key part
in the revitalization and not an isolated entity."
Bill Thunberg (advocate) said he was a business owner in downtown Mooresville. Lie
said the appraised value of the former hospital site was $3.5 million while the purchase price was
only $1.9 million. Mr. Thunberg said additional space for the courts, health services, and other
governmental services were needed in Mooresville. He said that renovation to the hospital
facility could be done faster than new construction. Thunberg said the revitalization would
attract additional development and more revenue.
Mooresville Town Mayor Al Jones (advocate) said the purchase amount was feasible and
the consolidation of services in one building would be helpful. He said there was much growth
in south Iredell and the purchase would save the county in the "long run." Jones said the most
beneficial advantage of the purchase would be the reduced cost for square footage. He also said
the schedule for renovating would be faster than new construction.
Tonda Gregory (advocate), President-elect for the Mooresville/South Iredell Chamber of
Commerce, and the Postmaster for Mooresville, said that since 1994, there had been over a 75%
growth in mail deliveries for the area. She said that for the next five to eight years, it was
anticipated the growth would again double. Gregory said a new postal facility had already been
built. She said long-range planning was needed.
_Melanie O'Connell Underwood (advocate), Economic Developer for Mooresville said the
county had already agreed to build a new courtroom. She said the courts in Mooresville were
"overflowing." She said the county would find it difficult to buy and find land adequate for its
needs. Underwood said she primarily looked for industrial properties, which were less expensive
than space in the downtown area. She said that an industrial client was looking at 10 acres for a
60,000 sq. ft. building. Mrs. Underwood said the industrial property would cost a million dollars
and the construction would be another $3 million. She said this would be an open -floored area
and not office and court space, which would cost even more.
Mark Childers (advocate), an attorney in the Mooresville area, said he had seen the court
dockets grow "exponentially." He said that on administrative court days, it was easy to see 600
to 700 people waiting in line at the Mooresville Municipal Building. He said in criminal court,
he had often seen the courtroom overflowing with people. Mr. Childers said that by having court
in Mooresville, it was a convenience to the victims and to the police officers. Childers said that a
past speaker had spoken and said the county should not purchase the building because it was old.
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