LCWSA logo limestone county water sewer authority

When the Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority opens its doors to the public Monday, it will do so at a different location.

LCWSA Chief Executive Officer Daryl Williamson said the authority has moved all operations to its building on U.S. 72 at Athens’ western border. He said the authority’s building on Jefferson Street near downtown Athens is being sold.

“Back in the day, customer service was done here (at the U.S. 72 building), then they bought the Jefferson Street location and did that there,” Williamson said. “It’s hard to get that area COVID ready, and we’ve got a three-story building here that literally four people inhabit.”

Williamson said the authority bought the Jefferson Street building around 2005. When a potential buyer contacted the authority about their interest in purchasing the building, “we thought it would be wise to bring everybody back over here (to the U.S. 72 building),” he said.

The building on U.S. 72 was used for warehousing and administration, while the Jefferson Street building handled all customer service. The LCWSA board meetings also take place at the U.S. 72 location.

The LCWSA buildings have been closed to the public since mid-March due to the novel coronavirus, but Williamson said the building on U.S. 72 will be opening back up Monday for customers.

“We are going to reopen our lobby so customers can come back in and have face-to-face interactions,” Williamson said. “We’ve got glass up, and there is ample room for people to social distance.”

The authority recently spent $42,565 to have the U.S. 72 building renovated. The board approved a bid at its February meeting from Brindley Construction of Pulaski, Tennessee, to do the work.

Construction included knocking down a sheetrock wall to open up more space, laying down vinyl floors and painting the interior. Work was also done on the outside of the building to refurbish the building that had not been worked on since the mid-1980s, Williamson said.

“It was past time for work to be done on the building,” he said. “Now that it’s done, we’re happy to be able to bring everybody back here to one location.”