The Calloway County Public Library no longer has ownership of the Higgins House.
The library board sold the dilapidated Victorian-style property to Judge Executive candidate James Gallimore for $37,500 dollars Wednesday night.
Those in attendance of the meeting applauded after the sale had been made final. Library board president Rick Lamkin gave his gratitude to Gallimore at the meeting, thanking him for buying the house.
Gallimore said he wanted to buy the house to preserve community history. He said he already has a potential buyer interested and that he can envision the house becoming a bed and breakfast. The house needs several repairs, including the foundation and roof.
He said the purchase is indicative of his relationship with the library.
“We don’t have problems. We don’t have the animosity that the current administration has. So we aren’t going to have any problems like that.," Gallimore said. "That’s one of the main things I’ve been promoting to do as Judge Executive because I get along with them so well.”
Current Judge Executive Larry Elkins has accused the library of unwise spending several times in the past year, starting when the board began making provisions for an expansion in 2016.
The Fiscal Court pressured the library to buy the house back from Murray Main Street for $1 last spring.
The board made a motion to use ‘all possible’ funds from the Wednesday sale to go into the building fund for an expansion.
The breezeway connecting the house to the library will be torn down at the library's expense. Gallimore said he would like to see part of it stay to create a covered patio.
