Robert Ford, with the Douglass High School Alumni and Historic Association, speaking to the county commissioners on Monday.

LIVE OAK — The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners on Monday approved a motion to hire a company to review the present condition of the former Douglass School buildings and present a cost estimate to repair and update the facility.

The county will pay $6,500 plus any third party expenses to Darabi and Associates, of Gainesville, for a cost estimate. The estimate will have a detailed analysis of each building component, including structure, roof, utilities, interior and exterior façades and compliance with current safety and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, according to the motion.

Darabi’s report will not address future uses and building viability for any function or purpose, but only to renovate the building to the original condition as the former school, the motion states.

Last week, the Douglass Center Committee met to discuss the numerous issues with the old school. The committee proposed three recommendations to the county.

First the county should proceed with construction of restrooms on the rear of the gymnasium. The gym was renovated in 2015 and is currently being used by the community.

Randy Harris, county administrator, said most of the activities happening at the center now are outdoor activities. The county should focus on accommodating people who use the baseball fields by installing restrooms for them to use instead of porta potties.

Chairman Ricky Gamble agreed. He said the county should get some use out of it now and not postpone the project any longer.

“We’ve had this project on hold for a long time and nothing has come through,” Gamble said.

The committee also recommended the county buy and place a historical marker created by the Douglass High School Alumni and Historic Association.

Robert Ford, with the alumni association, spoke to the county at the meeting and said the county should look into the possibility of the property qualifying for historic funding. Harris said the county did that when it worked on the gym and came back with nothing.

“The state said no before,” Harris said. “There might be some other entity out there. I don’t know. Finding funding would be difficult.”

The final recommendation from the committee was for the Darabi cost estimates.