In a couple of weeks, the former Better Living building turned temporary Limestone County Courthouse on South Jefferson Street in Athens will be the new home of the Limestone County Council on Aging administrative offices as well as office space for community corrections and state pardons and paroles.

On Wednesday, the Limestone County Commission suspended the rules during its regularly scheduled work session to unanimously approve the COA move from the Athens Senior Center. The Senior Center at 912 Pryor St. is not moving or closing; the Council on Aging staff is simply changing locations. Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough said the Council on Aging has grown so much that the small offices were getting cramped. He explained that confidentiality also comes into play when seniors need to discuss Medicaid or other sensitive medical information.

The county first purchased the building for $464,000 in 2013. The commission spent another $550,000 to remodel it to meet the courthouse needs while the Limestone County Courthouse was being renovated. Former Commission Chairman David Seibert, his grandson and various other county employees have worked for more than a year to reconfigure the 12,000-square-foot building for use by COA, community corrections and state pardons and paroles.

Yarbrough said the new tenants should be moving in by Sept. 11.

The move will save the county $30,000 in rent per year at the Crutcher Center, across the street from the former temporary courthouse. On Wednesday, commissioners unanimously approved terminating the lease agreement with JKLL, LLC, effective Oct. 1. The County Commission entered the agreement June 16, 2006, for rental of office spaces for community corrections. The agreement has been on a month to month basis since July 1, 2011.

The county will also save money at the senior center, which is owned by the city of Athens. The County Commission will continue to pay the salary of the Athens Senior Center manager and consumable supplies for the center. However, the commission will no longer be responsible for utilities.

In all, Yarbrough believes the county will see a $50,000 to $55,000 savings after the move.

Other items discussed during the work session include:

• Voting at the next meeting to approve the Alabama Department of Youth Services longterm detention subsidy contract to provide one detention bed for the use of the juvenile court at the Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Facility, beginning Oct. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30, 2019, without cost to the county;

• Voting at the next meeting to approve bids for generators for the Limestone County Emergency Management Agency, appraisal uniform rental for the Revenue Commission and printing pistol permits for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office;

• Voting at the next meeting to approve four subdivisions including the Debra Penny Subdivision, 18211 Sewell Road, in District 4; Elmore Estate Subdivision, O’Neal Road west of Alabama 99, in District 4; The Barron – Swanner Subdivision, 20337 Winfred Drive, in District 3; and Old Salem Subdivision, 26119 Salem Minor Hill Road, in District 4;

• Voting at the next meeting to approve an executive session, which will take place after the meeting;

• Adding to the agenda at the next meeting a vote to approve striping Lucas Ferry Road, Brownsferry Road and Seven Mile Post Road South in District 3 at a cost of approximately $30,000;

• County Engineer Marc Massey said the county and bridge inspectors are working on bridge preservation as well as working to address problems and preserve the life of the county’s bridges;

• District 1 Commissioner Stanley Hill said his district is busy patching, bushwhacking and bush hogging. He said his district is also in the process of building a bridge of Redus Hollow Road;

• District 2 Commissioner Steve Turner said his district is also bush hogging and bushwhacking. Turner said they are having problems in subdivisions where grass and debris is being blown into stormwater drains and clogging the system;

• District 3 Commissioner Jason Black said his district is also in the process of cutting roadways. He said he received numerous calls about Nuclear Plant Road needing to be cut. However, he said Nuclear Plant Road is not the responsibility of the county. It is a city of Athens road, Black said.

• District 4 Commissioner Ben Harrison said his district is readying for bridge inspections. His district has been busy cleaning the bridge area around Sportsman’s Park and on Easter Ferry Road. The district is also bush hogging and patching as well as preparing to work on Barker Road;

The County Commission will hold its next regular session at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the Clinton St. Courthouse Annex, 100 S. Clinton St. in Athens.