Whitley County Board of Health sells property by Corbin office

Parking may be a little harder to come by at the Whitley County Health Department’s Corbin office over the next couple of years.

During a special called meeting Monday evening, the Whitley County Board of Health, which oversees the health department, voted to sell 1,584 square feet of land outside its Corbin office to the Commonwealth of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for use in the US25W Corridor Improvement Project.

The property being sold represents mainly the grassy area in front of the health department.

The deal also calls for the health department to lease 3,939 square feet of space for two years to the state, much of which is located in the parking lot.

Public Health Director Marcy Rein noted that the total purchase and leasing price is $31,750, and that the agreement calls for the state to repair any property, which gets damaged in the process. The agreement assumes that about 3,000 square feet of blacktop in the parking lot will have to be replaced at the end of the process.

A contractor is expected to be selected for the project in the fall.

Although the state is leasing the property for two years, Rein noted that the actual construction period will only be about six months and take place sometime during that two-year period.

“We should see about six months of disruption,” she added noting that the health department should still be able to access the building during this time period.

Rein said leasing property is apparently something pretty unusual for the state to do, and that the original plan would have taken a lot more of the parking lot, which would have made ongoing operation of the building very concerning.

“I think this is a great modification that they have made,” she said.

Board Member Ron Herd noted that based on his calculations, the state is paying the equivalent of about $206,000 per acre to the health department for the land it is buying.

“I think it is a pretty good deal,” noted Board Member Don Creech.

Board Chairman Dr. David Williams agreed with Creech’s assessment.