A worthless purchase by worthless individuals. Another money pit for the taxpayers to keep up. The princess theatre, Ingalls harbour, Point Mallard Ice Rink and the list goes on and on.

The council members are dumber than dumb in making these acquistions. Notice they made Lazy River and Depot decisions AFTER the election..

The city streets are in terrible shape but they don't resurface the streets just another patch pot hole.

That's some brilliant negotiating there. That depot must have really been in demand to spend 40% over the actual value on it. Give me a break. Who voted these idiots in? Oh that's right. We did.

GREAT management Mr. Hammond and the rest of the council...GREAT way to protect our tax dollars by spending more than what something is worth! Well done! Absoulelely ridiclious!!

how is this LEGAL?

I know Billy votes NO a lot... but I've got to agree with him this time.

Wonder what Inscho originally paid for the depot? Guess if you can afford to sit on things and leverage your community, you can get what you want.

Very poor financial responsibility by our council. No bank would loan more than appraised value to purchase anything. Again, as I stated a few days ago when I posed the question as to why would more than appraised value be paid......this is a clear case of the will of a few being imposed on the many citizens of Decatur. One of few times I agree with Billy. Yes, William, the idiots of Decatur re-voted for these idiots. Pitiful!

This is not a good buy at all.

I could understand if there was a bidding war but I would bet a dollar to a doughnut hole no one else has even shown interest. It could have been purchased just as quickly for the appraised value or brlow.

What a bunch of DAs!

I understand the initial purchase is above value but if we can put 720K of grant money into it shouldn't that be a long term win? Even after restoration if the Depot is only worth 500K the city is still gaining property value. We need major repairs around the city for sure. Long term Decatur will make money on the investment.

How? How in the world will this railroad depot make money for Decatur?

It will become a permanent money pit. Just ride around and see where money could be better spent.

I love old railroad depots. I grew up down at the old Huntsville Depot ... spent a lot of time down there with my little brother, because my stepdad was the Huntsville yard agent for 30 years. With that being said, why can't a group of private investors get together to save this depot? I agree that it has significant historical value, but it sounds to me like the current property owner knows that his potential buyer has deep pockets. It was mentioned above by another commenter that no bank would approve financing of a private sale for over the appraised value, and that is correct -- so why is it being approved for whatever price the current owner is naming, just because the CITY wants to buy it?

All this "grant money" is ridiculous, especially considering the fact that just a couple of weeks ago, the state government was telling us that we had to approve this transfer of funds from the trust fund, because we were in dire straits -- the prisoners would all be let loose, all the kids and the old folks would starve, dogs and cats would start living together. What a bunch of hooey.

Does anyone on the city council know how to make a list? Do they know how to determine the difference between "Wants" and "Needs?" Prioritize said list? Apparently not.

A group of private investors might have been interested 15 years ago, but not now. Anything that goes in there will require parking capacity. If it was a private group, the city would demand a big parking lot. But since the city will own it, I guess they can waive that.

Agreeing with everyone else - WHY did the city pay EXTRA? Stupid.

and our Sheriff's Department is the LOWEST paid around..........thanks Councilmen!

Ann, the city council has nothing to do with the pay at the Sheriff's Department.

No Ann, they don't.

Who voted yes, and who voted no on the original decision to buy 2 weeks ago?

Wonder who's related to city govt. that owns the building? And what benefits will this give to the city of Decatur?

It was appraised as a wharehouse, not a historic landmark. We need to protect what little historical architecture we have.