Columbus Council approves funding for Historic Westville relocation project

The Columbus Consolidated Government will spend $271,500 to develop a new parking lot and install lights on South Lumpkin Road as part of the Historic Westville relocation project.

Columbus Council approved the resolution presented by the city’s Community Reinvestment Department on Tuesday with a 7-1 vote. Councilor Glenn Davis voted against the proposal, and Councilor Gary Allen was absent.

City Community Investment Director Laura Johnson said the parking lot would be developed on a tract owned by the city, and it will be utilized by the general public for parking and access to a trail a that location. It will cost about $600,000 to construct, and and Westville would pay the remaining $350,000.

Under the new arrangement, the city also will be responsible for the monthly utility bill for the lights estimated at about $220 per month. City officials said they would utilize OLOST infrastructure funding to develop the parking lot and the city’s street lighting budget to pay for utilities.

The expenditures are part of an amended Memorandum of Agreement with Historic Westville Inc. that extends the timeframe to begin normal operations of the Living History Museum, as well as lease agreement for a building on the property, due to recent delays in the project. The lease agreement, which expires Aug. 31 of this year, is now extended to Aug. 31, 2018.

The latest delay in the project is the result of an issue the nonprofit organization encountered while trying to move the first building from its current location in Lumpkin to a 35-acre site near Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center. The moving company was told that its application to do the work was not completed fully. The request for a permit was denied at a recent Stewart County Commission meeting, with Historic Westville and the mover asked to appear at a June 6 commission work session to answer more questions.

Westville Executive Director Leo Goodsell appeared at Tuesday’s Columbus Council meeting to update councilor’s on the project. He said he’s confident that the problems with Stewart County will be resolved soon.

“The No. 1 issue at hand is what will they charge for the permit to move buildings on a two-tenths of a mile on county roads,” he said. “They plan to, during that work session, have that worked out so they will be able to then forward recommendations to the full county commission on June 13 to vote on what the fee structure will be for moving structures around Stewart County.

“I trust that we’ll work through any difficulties that there may be; any concerns that they might have,” he continued. “There’s no reason why we can’t get the permits. And so, we trust that we will be able to work it out.”

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Davis opposed amendments to the local Memorandum of Agreement brought before council, stating that they were not part of the original plans. He said spending OLOST funds on the project could hinder other projects that need the money. His biggest objection was to the city paying the light bill for the parking lot.

“... I cannot approve a request to install lights and fund a utility bill; I don’t think that’s appropriate for the city to do,” he said. “... That’s what I would view as an operational cost that should come out of an operational budget or revenue that’s coming from the operation of Westville. And I don’t think the citizens should be liable for that on an ongoing basis.”

City Manager Isaiah Hugley said a city parking lot would be developed, providing local citizens access to the trail and Westville.

“With Westville coming and the economic impact that it’s going to have on that area and on Columbus, this is a proposed public-private partnership,” he said. “... We certainly think it’s going to be a benefit to that area of our community and all of Columbus.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Columbus Council approves funding for Historic Westville relocation project."