County board sells property to Golden Circle, RIDES
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[At a special meeting of the Saline County Board Thursday evening, the board voted to sell three lots of county-owned property for a new Golden Circle Senior Citizens' Center on Veterans Drive. In addition, the board sold three acres of property to RIDES Mass Transit District, with the exact location of those lots yet to be determined.
Board member Carey Harbison presented both proposals to the board for their consideration. He said the two acres the Golden Circle was interested in sit on Lots 4, 5 and 6 on Veterans Drive, right next to the property recently purchased from the county by Budslick Investments.
Harbison said they plan to use two of the lots for the building and the third lot will be a parking lot. The county asked for $20,000 for the property.
"We need to take care of them," said Harbison. "This is a great spot for them."
Harbison made a motion to sell Lots 4, 5 and 6 to the Golden Circle for $20,000, and Roger Craig seconded. The board voted unanimously in favor of the sale.
"I'm tickled to death to help you all out," said board member Bruce Allen, expressing a sentiment echoed on the faces of other board members.
Saline County Golden Circle Coordinator Darlene Goolsby said they plan to begin construction on the new building in July.
During the meeting the board also voted to sell three acres of county property at a price tag of $30,000 to RIDES Mass Transit District for a new maintenance and dispatch center. The area they're interested in sits on the east side of Lieberman Drive near Small Street.
"We're growing and this will give us the capacity to maintain a bigger fleet," said RIDES representative Bill Jung.
Harbison showed the board a picture of a RIDES building in Williamson County that will look very similar to the one they plan to build in Harrisburg.
"What he's wanting is three consecutive acres that he can have access to," said Harbison.
Board member Bruce Tolley made a motion to sell three acres to RIDES at a cost of $30,000 and access to Lieberman Drive, and board member Jim Fowler seconded. The board voted unanimously in favor of the sale.
"You provide a valuable service to this area and we're glad to keep you," board member Joe Jackson said.
Board members seemed excited to have sold so much property over the past few months.
"It seems like we've had a lot of these special meetings here lately," said Board Chairman Jay Williams. "But maybe that means we're getting things done."