County takes possession of Forrester building

Jackson County has taken possession of the Forrester Truck Parts & Repair building north of Holton to serve as the new shop for the road and bridge department.

On Monday afternoon, the Jackson County Commissioners signed paperwork to take ownership of the building, seven acres of land and additional equipment at a total cost of $380,000. The county shop is expected to move to the new location at 24569 U.S. Highway 75 in March. 

After the documents were signed, the commissioners left their chamber at the Courthouse to tour the building with Earl Bahret and Eric Fritz, road and bridge department co-supervisors, and Terry Mick, special project and bridge manager. The previous owners, Bob and Barbara Forrester, were also present. 

The Forresters approached county officials in November with an offer to sell the property to the county for use as a county shop.

The building, which includes a mechanic shop, inventory area, offices and other storage areas is 13,000-square feet. Portions of the building were built in 1962, with additional improvements made to the business in 1979, it was reported. The Forresters have operated a semi truck repair business at the location for 17 years.

“This is bigger than we were intending to build,” said Commissioner Rob Ladner. “We wouldn’t have been able to afford to build something of this size.”

This past fall, the commissioners announced they were accepting bids to construct a 125-foot long by 80-foot wide, all metal, pre-engineered building to serve as the new shop. Contractors were also contacted to submit bids. 

The commissioners said they were interested at that time in building a new shop between the county recycling center and the bridge yard on the east edge of town. 

The commissioners said that only minor renovations are being planned at the new shop location. One of the first priorities is setting up a telephone system and a computerized inventory system. 

The commissioners also recently accepted a bid for the installation of a fence around the property. The bid was awarded to Kansas Fence of Wichita at a cost of $42,900. 

The commissioners said that the property’s septic system is being checked and that portions of the building will be painted. A new roof for a portion of the building was also discussed Monday. 

One area of the building is set to be reorganized to serve as a designated space for tire repair, Commissioner Janet Zwonitzer said. 

The funds for the purchase of building came from the county’s capital outlay fund, it was reported.  

The county’s current shop is located at 525 Lowell Ave. in Holton. It was originally constructed in 1927, with an addition built in the 1930s. It was previously reported that about 50 percent of the county’s current fleet of road and bridge equipment could not fit through the bay doors and must be worked on outside. 

After the new shop is open, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is expected to utilize the former shop facility as an impound yard and to store some of its larger equipment. 

Now that the new building has been purchased, paperwork will move forward to take the property off the county’s tax roll. 

According to county records, the land and building at Forrester Truck Parks & Repair has an appraised value of $222,250 for tax purposes.