Cornelia government relocating, sets surplus sale for Thursday

CORNELIA – Cornelia City Hall is closed through Wednesday, Aug. 5, to allow staff to move into the new Cornelia Municipal Building next door.

City offices will reopen at 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6.

The city commission has delayed its monthly meeting to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the courtroom of the new municipal building. The commission will precede that meeting with a work session at 5 p.m.

Public surplus sale set Thursday

The City of Cornelia will hold a public sale from 9-11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, to sell surplus furniture and other items located in the now-former city hall and police department buildings.

Cash and checks will be accepted, but no items will be held without payment and no returns will be allowed.

Items include miscellaneous office items, desks, filing cabinets and credenzas.

All items must be removed from the property by 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.

Dedication of new complex set Aug. 15

The Cornelia City Commission has set the public dedication of the new 26,000-square-foot city hall/courtroom/police department building for 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. The building accounts for about $5 million to $5.5 million of the overall $11-million budget of the project that also includes a new headquarters fire station nearby on South Main Street.

Old facilities will be demolished

Once the remaining furnishings are removed from the former city hall and police department buildings, those facilities will be demolished to provide additional parking for the new Cornelia Municipal Building, which houses city hall and the police department.

City Manager Donald Anderson said that parking lot will accommodate 54 parking spaces and will supplement angle parking on Larkin Street and Foreacre Street.

The new Cornelia Municipal Building replaces a 70-year-old building that was located on the site at the corner of Foreacre Street and South Main Street in downtown Cornelia. Built in 1949, that building served as city hall, police, fire, public works, and the library. That building was demolished in May 2019.

The now-former city hall was constructed as the Cornelia Library, while the now-former police department was constructed as the Habersham County Health Department. Both buildings are aging and have been remodeled numerous times.

When the new Cornelia Municipal Complex opens at 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, those who need the services of city government or who have business with the police department will enter the building through this entrance and report to the appropriate window.

The city courtroom and Cornelia City Commission chambers are located on the lower floor of the new Cornelia Municipal Complex at the corner of Foreacre Street and South Main Street.

The level of the lot on the corner of South Main Street at Foreacre Street was raised to accommodate the new Cornelia Municipal Complex.

Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson shows the three protective windows where city hall personnel will assist utility customers and others in the new building.

People conducting business with Cornelia Police Department will visit this protective window from the Larkin Street entrance to the new municipal complex.

The new Cornelia Municipal Complex replaces this 70-year-old building that was demolished in May 2019.

The current Cornelia City Hall and police station, at left, will be demolished to create a large parking lot for the new Cornelia Municipal Building, right.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/8/926101/cornelia-government-relocating-sets-surplus-sale-for-thursday