Recent storms sweeping the area have the town of Signal Mountain reassessing its insurance coverage of the Mountain Arts Community Center. Although a formal vote was not taken, officials decided not to change the policy.
“I would leave it [with the current coverage],” said Councilwoman Annette Allen.
The building and its contents were formerly assessed at $1.569 million, according to Town Manager Honna Rogers. A new appraisal raised the value to $2.2 million. The building’s replacement cost is estimated at $3.3 million, Rogers said.
Mayor Bill Lusk took issue with the fact that the values are based on square footage alone and do not take widespread maintenance issues into account. They also do not include the property value of the roughly 5 acres which house MACC.
“I wasn’t comfortable insuring it for a huge amount,” Rogers said. “It means paying a higher premium by $1,700 a year in a year we’re really struggling to find dollars. Part of my thought process is if something happens to MACC and it’s completely gone and we want a new structure, we’re not going to build a 1920’s school building.”
Mountain residents are currently working on a long-range plan for MACC, which is expected to include extensive upgrades.