After months of debate and a lawsuit, Hamilton County Commissioners this morning unanimously approved the sale of the old Signal Mountain Middle School property.

The buyer, Tom Poteet, is planning to make the property into a community athletic center. He sued the county in October because of a decision on the commission's part to include restrictions on the property in the deed.

Mr. Poteet has agreed to withdraw his suit after working out a compromise with Commissioner Richard Casavant, who represent Signal Mountain. Under the compromise, the restrictions would come out of the deed after five years, Mr. Poteet's death or upon rezoning the property back to residential, whichever comes first.

Mr. Poteet offered $800,000 and two tracts of land near Soddy-Daisy High School for the property.

For full details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.