War Memorial Building added to list of possible sites for relocating county offices

A new potential location has been added to the discussion concerning relocating some county government offices: the War Memorial Building in Dickson. Mayor Bob Rial told the county commission Tuesday night that the city of Dickson has brought up the possibility of giving the building to the county as a possible replacement for the satellite offices currently located on Main Street in Dickson and maybe even the Dickson County Election Commission office in Charlotte. After being told more than $300,000 in repairs are needed to the satellite office on Main Street and the election office is in such disrepair it isn’t worth fixing, the county at first began discussing the Emergency Medical Services building on Cowan Road as a new Dickson satellite. But Rial said the idea of moving to the War Memorial Building “has apparently taken on a life of its own” and deserves “a little more investigation.” While no decisions have been made, Rial said he has been in discussions with Dickson Mayor Don Weiss, although the proposal has not been discussed by the city council. Rial said he hopes to be able to bring several options along with some cost projections to the commission next month. Despite rumors to the contrary, Rial said the county is not considering moving all of its operations to Dickson. “We’re in the city of Charlotte to stay,” Rial said, adding that decision was made when the jail was built and then expanded in Charlotte. “The courts need to be here where the jail is,” he said. But the mayor did say he has asked Maintenance Director W.H. Batey and Codes Officer Donnie Thiel to begin working with Charlotte Mayor Bill Davis to look for a long-term plan for the expansion of county offices. With the growth of the court system and crowded conditions at the courthouse annex, Rial said he wants to begin planning for the future. “It is time for us to look at that,” Rial said, adding that the county won’t be able to consider anything for 6-7 years but he wants to begin looking at possible long-term solutions.