Archived story
As originally published
Stephens County commissioners unanimously accepted a bid for real-estate services connected to 36 Mize Road in Toccoa on Jan. 13 and authorized the board chairman to sign the related documents. The action came before WNEG Radio reported that commissioners, on Aug. 11, unanimously accepted Rupa Desai’s $306,000 bid to purchase the same surplus property, formerly known as Casey’s Pro Tire.
The two developments matter because they concern a county-owned site whose intended public use shifted over several years and whose disposition could affect county assets and the local tax base. The Jan. 13 minutes establish that commissioners authorized a procurement-related step, but they do not identify the successful provider, the services to be performed, the bid amount or the terms the chairman was authorized to sign.
WNEG Radio reported that the county approved a $450,000 purchase of 36 Mize Road in 2022, saying the site would house the county fleet and move the maintenance shop from cramped quarters. By 2023, the station reported that discussions with county officials indicated the fleet-relocation plan had been abandoned. In February 2025, WNEG Radio reported that commissioners began the disposal process; a July sale notice sought cash bids with a $250,000 minimum, setting up the later reported acceptance of a purchase bid.
County officials previously described the acquisition as a way to give fleet maintenance more room and equipment; WNEG Radio attributed that rationale to then-County Administrator Phyllis Ayers and then-Chairman James Addison. In the later sale reporting, County Administrator Christian Hamilton said staff recommended Desai’s high bid among three bids and said the buyer indicated cash was available to close within three weeks. Commissioner Chuck Wright told the station the bid exceeded two professional appraisals and would return the property to the tax digest.
The Jan. 13 meeting minutes document a completed unanimous acceptance of a real-estate-services bid and authorization for the chairman to sign. They do not document that an agreement was executed, that services began or what the agreement requires. WNEG Radio’s August report is attributed reporting of a later accepted surplus-property purchase bid, not independent confirmation that a deed closed or that title changed hands. The relationship, if any, between the January services authorization and the reported August sale terms is not spelled out.
The next public confirmation would be a signed services agreement, later board action or property records showing what work was authorized and whether the sale closed. Those records could answer who received the January bid, its price, the scope of services and whether the county transferred 36 Mize Road. Until then, the board’s Jan. 13 approval is clear, but the financial terms, implementation and final disposition of the property remain unresolved in public documentation.