Once again, I cannot believe the indifference county officials are displaying relative to the saving of the Nichols building.

They now have a concrete proposal for the use of the building by a local, well-respected developer with a proven track record which would produce thousands of dollars of tax revenue at a time when it is sorely needed. That proposal appears to have been greeted by a yawn instead of with an open mind.

I understand that the county doesn’t even have a plan for the land after a possible razing of the building. If and when they would decide to replace the office space provided by Nichols, they could build a replacement building directly across Fifth Street from the courthouse on open land they already own. Another possibility would be to use the space located in the courthouse building by moving some offices and courtrooms to the new law enforcement center.

Come on folks, let’s get creative here and take the best interests of the taxpayers into consideration.