The Limestone County Commission has not set its price for the old L&S shopping center on North Jefferson Street, but commissioners say they’re ready to recoup their investment.

The county on Monday made the decision to hire Ming Enterprises LLC, to market the property on North Jefferson Street at a commission rate of 6 percent. Realtor and developer Bill Ming brokered the previous deal between L&S owners Dick and Billy Smith and Limestone County in 2012.

The county paid $525,000 for the 7-acre piece of property, which has since gone undeveloped. County leaders are not sure what the next asking price will be, but legally the county has to receive fair market value for the property from the next buyer.

Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough said the commission would likely go into executive session during the March 11 work session to discuss the listing price.

In addition to the property that once housed the L&S grocery store and Fred’s, the property also contained several rental houses, one of which is still occupied. Yarbrough said when the county sells the property, he has no intention of evicting the tenant.

None of the commissioners who voted to buy the property are still in office. Only District 2 Commissioner Steve Turner and District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison have been on the commission long enough to vote previously on matters related to the property, including a decision to demolish empty buildings and haul the debris away.

Those two commissioners also had to vote to approve a fine imposed by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management related to the debris removal after it was discovered that some of the debris was being burned at a farm on Leggtown Road.

“I wanted to sell it when I came in,” Harrison said of the property. “We’ll have to approve the selling price but, to me, it’s worth more now than it was with those buildings on it. … If you don’t have a need for it, you shouldn’t buy it.”

District 1 Commissioner Stanley Hill said he’s not in a hurry to sell the property, and added he believed “taxpayers need to see action” on the property before a decision is made to sell it.

“That’s a good-sized piece of property that’s close to the courthouse,” he said. “If we get a good price, I’m (not opposed to selling it), but I don’t want to give it away. I think it will grow in value.”

Hill said he believed the city of Athens might find a use for the property, but Mayor Ronnie Marks was ambivalent about the city’s interest in the property, especially at the price the county paid for it.

“I wish (the county) good luck with this,” Marks said. “I hope it can be developed to where it can be an asset to the city and county.”

Paying rent

The original intent of purchasing the L&S property was to renovate the existing buildings to house county agencies, including pardons and parole and community corrections.

After deciding the costs to renovate the old L&S store and Fred’s would be too high, however, those plans were dropped. In the meantime, the county purchased the Better Living building on Jefferson Street at a cost of $464,000 to house the county’s court system as renovations on the Limestone County Courthouse began.

That building could potentially be used to house some of those agencies when courthouse renovations are completed in January 2016.

“Until that happens, we don’t have a choice but to pay rent,” Yarbrough said.

In discussions at the Feb. 27 commission work session, Yarbrough said it’s possible the Limestone County School Board may also use the Better Living building for office space. He also mentioned the possibility of moving the Council on Aging offices to the basement of the school board building on Jefferson Street if the bathrooms can be made handicapped accessible. He added Community Corrections might also be able to use office space in the basement of that building.

“If we have a building, any place we can put them where it’s not costing us rent is money saved,” he said.