County’s Offer To Purchase City Parking Garage Rejected

It seems that a nearly-done deal for the city of Washington to sell its parking garage to the county is not so done after all.  Washington County Commissioners Chairman Nick Sherman shared a letter with WJPA that he sent to the Washington Parking Authority, following a parking authority meeting Wednesday night.  Sherman asked the authority to reconsider its decision to turn the deal down.  Sherman says they wanted more than the four-million-dollars the building was assessed at, but Washington Mayor JoJo Burgess tells WJPA the authority’s decision was made – because after months of paperwork, the numbers didn’t match up to their initial offering.  In his letter, Sherman said that they had informed all the parties involved that the funding for the purchase would be coming from the American Rescue Plan Act and a decision would need to be made and voted on at the commissioners August meeting.  Sherman says the authorities decision not to accept the offer will force the county to build its own parking garage on county property, creating a significant burden for city residents and school district taxpayers.  Sherman asked the authority to reconsider its decision and invited the board to join them at the table for continued discussions.