THOMASVILLE — Thomas County commissioners ratified the purchase of an East Jackson Street building to house the county elections and registration office.

The office previously was at the Thomas County Judicial Center at 325 N. Madison St.

New state-mandated voting machines require twice as much storage space as old machines. The Judicial Center office did not have required storage space, and neither did other county government-owned buildings.

“It’s something we obviously needed because of the new voting equipment,” said Frank Scoggins, elections supervisor. “It’s allowed us to expand and better serve the voters of Thomas County.

The county has rented the building at 1402 East Jackson, a former video-rental business, for several months.

The asking price for the building, which needed a number of repairs, was $750,000, said county Commissioner Wiley Grady, board vice chairman and commission public properties committee chairman.

The purchase price, after the seller’s reductions for repairs, was $653,780.88. The building was purchased from Gerald Pryor of Douglas.

Grady said the structure — about 6,700 square feet — had foundation issues and termite damage, among other needed repairs. Money from the 2017 special purpose local option sales tax will be used to pay for the building. The total price tag was around $1 million, Grady said.

“We have received nothing but public praise for what was done to the building — the convenience, location and parking,” he said. 

It has not been determined how former Justice Center elections office space will be used. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820