LULA — Following a brief closed session at a called Lula City Council meeting Monday night, Mayor Milton Turner announced that the city is obtaining the Lula Depot through a quitclaim deed.
City leaders have been working for more than a year to obtain the facility from a nonprofit group.
Under the agreement approved Monday night, the city is obtaining the building and grounds for roughly $9,000, a savings of about $15,000 from the price previously accepted that required the Lula Area Betterment Association to produce clear title.
The city council voted in a called meeting on March 4, 2016, to purchase the depot from the non-profit group for $25,000. That vote followed about three months of discussions and negotiations.
The cloudy title stemmed from a one-word name change in the group that acquired the depot, from Lula Area Business Association to Lula Area Betterment Association.
“I’m excited that we’ve actually got it sealed and dealed and actually coming out $14,000 less than what we were going to put into it,” Turner said following the meeting. “I’m excited that we can start some work over there and do some of the upgrades the council had talked about, so we’ve got to go back and revisit some of that in budget issues. I know what we had committed before, and let’s see if the council stands behind those commitments.”
City Manager Dennis Bergin said he and other city leaders are thrilled to finally be able to move forward to consummate the purchase.
“This is a great opportunity for the community, so we’re tickled to death,” Bergin said. “Probably, we’re close to $9,000 to purchase the property, which again is better than the $25,000 it was originally. We’ve all recognized this is a benefit to the community. It was a community who through the years has participated, and now it’s going to be an even larger part of the city. The council has got great ideas and commitments they would like to make to improve that property, and hopefully they can get those started in the next six months, or at least lay out how that would work.”
Councilman Garnett Smith commended LABA President Mere C. Barbee for working with the city to ensure the facility will continue to serve the community beyond 2017.
“I’m just very glad we’ve got to this point where we can get the keys and start doing some work on it,” Smith said. “I’m glad Ms. Mere has worked it out this good. I think everybody will be happy in the long run.”
Similarly, Councilman Marvin Moore said it took Barbee and the LABA’s willingness to work with the council so the facility will continue to be improved and serve the community for years to come.
Councilman Vince Evans, who previously has expressed reservations about the delayed purchase, said, “It’s a project that’s been going on well over a year and a half, and it’s just time to draw it to a close. We need to have a solution for it, and this seems to be a compromise for the best solution.”
Longtime Councilman Lamb Griffin summed up the importance of the city obtaining the depot, saying, “We just don’t have no choice.”
Councilman Mordecai Wilson, who was out of town, was unable to attend Monday night’s called meeting.
The depot and its grounds are home to the city’s annual Railroad Days event, as well as the Lula Fall Festival.
