Lew Oliver is an accomplished town planner with a vision for development in Clarkesville, but none of that vision will ever come to pass if something is not done with the town’s No. 1 eyesore – the former Habersham County Courthouse.

That building and property are owned by Habersham County, and for the last three years, the building has sat completely dormant while various county commissioners and county managers have tried to decide what to do with it.

At last week’s special-called meeting in Clarkesville, the city expressed its support for Oliver to push forward and develop affordable housing on that site. The remaining hurdle is the county agreeing to the project.

This is one project the county has not been able to agree on, though, even within its own circles, let alone involving the Development Authority, another governmental body in Clarkesville and a developer.

The memorandum of understanding to transfer the courthouse property to the Development Authority – and later, if the project succeeds, to sell to the developer for $10 – was initially rejected by three out of five commissioners on Monday night. They later revoted to table the agreement to work out the kinks and had another 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Dustin Mealor flipping to the table crew.

Vice-Chairman Bruce Harkness reminded folks that he voted to keep the courthouse from being demolished at the county’s expense, and he continues to claim that there is an offer to buy the property right now for a half-million dollars. Harkness also made statements indicating he would prefer to sell to someone who “has lived here their whole lives.”

Mealor agreed that he was not ready to give the property away, indicating that he did not want to see it go toward “a wealthy developer getting wealthier.”

Mealor has been on the commission for all three years since the new administration building made the old courthouse obsolete. He will be on the commission for more or less the next five years now that he is unopposed. Harkness is in his second year and has not been afraid to be outspoken about his opinion on various issues.

So it comes down to this – if it’s your opinion that you don’t want to give the courthouse away in the name of economic development, and it is also your opinion that the courthouse has monetary value to the taxpayers, then make a move.

Sell it. Tear it down. Do something. Get your half-million dollars. What are we waiting for?

Oliver is ready to do something, and while he was not born here, he is willing to help improve our community. But if the commissioners don’t want to deal with him, that is their prerogative. Just don’t wade in a pool of inaction while clandestinely blocking the future. Get off the treadmill and move forward, whatever form that takes.

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