Staff Writer

The county has decided to pursue negotiations to purchase the old Wal-Mart building on Wilson Road.

At Wednesday's County Council meeting the council gave county administration the go-ahead to negotiate on the property. No dollar amounts were discussed.

Councilman John David Dawkins has been vocal in his opinion that the asking price of $1.6 million is much too high and more than the owner, Drake Capital, paid for the property.

If the county purchases the building, it is expected to cost about $120 per square foot for renovations.

Initially the Sheriff's Office would occupy 11,000 square feet of the facility and have another 20,000 allocated for expansion.

Talks have also included the family and magistrate courts, the Department of Juvenile Justice and Probation, Parole and Pardon going into the building. This would mean that about 40,000 square feet of the 75,000 square foot building would be in use.

Putting courts in the building reduces security costs due to limiting locations. A video link between the jail would be used for magistrates to perform bond hearings.

If the county purchases the building, renovations are estimated to take about six months.