BROOKHAVEN — Lincoln County Board of Supervisors Attorney Greg Malta said the three appraisals for the Lincoln County Courthouse have come in. The City of Brookhaven and Lincoln County will progress in discussions for the County to buyout the City’s ownership of the courthouse. 

A 1980 inter-local agreement stipulates the County would have to reimburse the City 20 percent of the building’s value, the City’s ownership, if the city government moves out of the courthouse. It is the lesser of two payment options the County had. 

Malta gave an update to the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors in executive session at the first April board meeting. He explained to the board that the City and County each get an appraisal on the building and then get a third appraisal from an appraiser appointed by both the City and County. The two parties will meet, numbers will then become public and the average of the three appraisals will be taken. 

Lincoln County Board of Supervisors voted in executive session to give Malta the authority to negotiate the buyout terms for Brookhaven’s 20 percent stake in the courthouse Monday. The numbers have not become public yet, Malta said. 

The Daily Leader reported in October that the city could potentially move to the old Kees Motor Company building at 130 East Cherokee Street or the Hartman-Harrigill Funeral Home across from the Chamber of Commerce at 101 Chickasaw Street. Brookhaven has made no official decision on where the city’s offices will move to or when.