Athens City Council members may vote Monday on a proposal to buy the empty Regions Bank satellite office near City Hall.

Mayor Ronnie Marks told The News Courier Friday a bank official came to the city with the proposal to sell the small, brick building at 105 W. Hobbs St. for $85,000.

Marks said the building and land appraised at $150,000.

The building’s proximity to City Hall, located at 200 W. Hobbs St., makes it valuable to the city, he said.

Officials have no definitive plans at this time on how the property might be used in the future.

“One idea is that we need downtown parking or another place to make utility payments or an office or some downtown merchants are looking for public restroom facilities downtown,” Marks said.

“Because the building is located on the corner beside City Hall, we have a great interest in it for whatever may come up,” the mayor said. “I don’t want to lose an opportunity to purchase the property — not for the sake of just purchasing property — but when you have a growing community, I don’t think we need to lose the opportunity. It is more to protect our future than anything.”

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, with a premeeting work session set for 4:30 p.m., at which time Anita Raby will speak about Houston Memorial Library.

Both meetings are open to the public.

Regular Monday calendar

• A proposed resolution to approve the purchase of a Ford F-250 for Athens Fire & Rescue;

• A proposed resolution to approve travel expenses for Athens Electric Department;

• A proposed ordinance to grant a franchise to Southern Light LLC, which hopes to build a fiber optic transmission line along certain rights of way in the city;

• A proposed resolution to approve a pole-attachment agreement with Southern Light LLC;

• A proposed resolution to reappoint Lisa Carter Payne to the Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama Inc.; and

• A proposed resolution authoring the mayor to enter into an agreement with Morell Engineering to construct, engineer and inspect the paving, striping and extending of culverts on Nick Davis Road from Lindsay Lane and Mooresville Road. The $647,450 Nick Davis project is one of the city’s major projects covered by the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (ATRIP) grant program. The city and Limestone County are sharing matching costs. The budget for construction, engineering and inspection services is set at $85,000 and will be paid from the city’s ATRIP project fund.