Overton County Commissioners gathering estimates on building a barndominium to serve as a new community center in the Hanging Limb area.
The request to gather estimates brought forward by District Three Commissioners Jesse Bowman and Randall Boswell. Bowman said the Hanging Limb area has always used the school as a community center, but now the school has not been as accessible.
“The school policy (is that) if you don’t have an employee of the school, you can’t host an event at the school,” Bowman said. “And some organizations don’t have a school teacher that is part of them, so it starts making it a little harder cause they have to hunt for a teacher or an employee to come sit with them at the school as a chaperone.”
Boswell said the plan is to build the barndominium on an existing concrete slab where the old shirt factory used to be. Bowman said it would be great if the county commission could bring a new community center space to the Hanging Limb area.
“I think it would help a lot of people,” Bowman said. “It would take a little bit of a load of their planning for an event. Say they have a graduation party, a bridal shower, it might be one less thing they have to worry about. They can contact somebody and know it’s just right there at their door.”
Bowman said the barndominium is something that he hopes would not break the county financially.
“Something just practical,” Bowman said. “It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Just something practical and useful that would make the area look good, and also that would complement the county, stuff like that.”
Bowman said many people in the Hanging Limb community have requested a new community center. Commission Co-Chair Darwin Clark said he did not see an issue with getting estimates.
“Well, it’s gonna be a work in progress, and you know, we find out how much to put something like that up, and then we can apply for grants,” Clark said. “There are grants out there through the development district and other places that we can apply to and try to get something done.”
The county commission authorized the county to gather estimates for a brand new condominium.