Alto ISD's vote locks CCAD deal
Appraisal district will total 8,000 sq. feet
BY LELAND ACKER

The Cherokee County Appraisal District (CCAD) will soon be expanding into the old Tosh Insurance building. Tosh Insurance, which is building a new office on the west side of the square, agreed to sell their current facility to CCAD for $110,000. Lee Flowers, chief appraiser for CCAD, told the Alto ISD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting Dec. 17 that the building is ideal because it is adjacent to CCAD's current location.

Mr. Flowers told the board that in order to buy or sell real estate, the CCAD needed 75 percent of its taxing entities to pass a resolution authorizing such action. The board voted to pass the resolution authorizing CCAD to purchase the current Tosh Insurance building.

Mr. Flowers said with the votes from Alto ISD and Jacksonville ISD, all 13 taxing entities he appraises, approved the purchase of the property.

Once CCAD expands into the current Tosh Insurance building, they will have 8,000 square feet of space.

"Do I need the space today? No," Mr. Flowers told the board. "But I have squeezed out every square inch of space. With the way the county is growing, especially on the north end, I will need to hire additional staff within 10 years. With the current space (before acquiring the Tosh Insurance building), I would have no place to put them."

Mr. Flowers said the other alternative to purchasing the Tosh Insurance building is to

build a new 8,000 square foot facility.

"We don't feel that is a prudent use of taxpayer funds," Mr. Flowers said, explaining that such a project would cost more than $500,000.

The CCAD will finance the purchase of the property for five years, paying approximately $25,000 per year. Alto ISD's share of that payment will be approximately $1,200 per year.

In other action, the board approved utilizing a general contractor for construction of the new elementary school, which will be funded by the $6.3 million bond package approved by voters in the November election. The board will begin the procedure of hiring a contractor for construction at a later date.

The board also voted to keep boardmembers' terms at three years and to continue holding school board elections in conjunction with city council elections in May.

Boardmembers Freddy Johnson, Greg Duplichain, Britton Tilley, Jay Jones, Randy Low and Lee Pearman attended, in addition to Superintendent Dr. Ray DeSpain.