Warren County Fiscal Court is interested in selling a building that currently houses the Warren County Road Department offices.

At the end of its regularly scheduled Friday meeting, the court went into closed session to discuss a real estate transaction.

Upon returning to open session, the court voted unanimously to surplus the land and building at 638 E. Fifth St., which the road department uses as offices and some storage space. The building is 12,760 square feet but there was no estimate immediately available on the property’s acreage.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said fiscal court is required by state law to surplus any property before selling it, adding that the court may decide to sell the building.

There is nothing wrong with the building, he said.

“Right now the size of the building is adequate for what we need it for,” he said.

The court is potentially interested in selling the structure because there has been interest from developers in purchasing the property, Buchanon said.

“There are at least two groups who’ve expressed interest in it and this might be a good time to sell it if we sell it for enough to replace the building,” he said.

Relocating Road Department staff, if the building is sold, could involve either buying or constructing a new building, Buchanon said.

Fiscal court also granted the Department of Stormwater Management authority to advertise for bids for the construction of a storage facility in Michael O. Buchanon Park.

Josh Moore, director of the Department of Public Works, which oversees stormwater management, said the building would be a storage facility for both stormwater management and the Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Chris (Kummer, parks director) currently has equipment in a barn that’s probably pushing 100 years old,” he said.

The barn, because of its advanced age, is a potentially unsafe structure, Moore said.

“We’re just trying to get a new facility, a safer facility, a dryer facility,” he said.

Equipment stored in the new facility would include mowers, tractors and materials like piping, dirt and sand, Moore said.

Moore expects the project to cost $60,000 to $70,000, he said.

For now, the plan is to pay for the project out of stormwater management funds, though parks and recreation may chip in, he said.

“We may in the future look at a partnership as to the funding of it,” he said.

Construction of the building would likely begin next month, Moore said, adding that stormwater management could either build the facility itself or contract the job, depending on the price.

In another matter, fiscal court purchased a $12,299 electric generator for the Capitol Arts Center to replace the old generator, which no longer works.

“In a public theater like that, if the lights go out during a performance or something, you have to be able to safely have the facility lit,” he said.

The Capitol Arts Center’s roof was recently replaced as well, Buchanon said, adding that the Capitol, being more than 100 years old, requires “ongoing maintenance and replacement and renovation in perpetuity.”

— Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.