The county government cannot donate a piece of property to a Roopville church unless the county school board first decides that it doesn’t want the land.

The Board of Commissioners voted on Aug. 4 to donate the 5-acre lot to Holy Ground Baptist Church, but found out late last week that the Carroll County Board of Eduction had not made a formal decision on whether it wanted the property. Because the school board has the right of first refusal, the property cannot be given away until it rules on the matter one way or another.

“We were under the impression before the [Board of Commissioners’] meeting that the [school] board had already done that, but I guess they hadn’t,” said County Attorney Cynthia Daley, who is also the attorney for Carroll County Schools.

Commission Chairman Bill Chappell sent a letter to Superintendent John Zauner on April 23 of this year, requesting “that the Board of Education provide written notification to the Board of Commissioners that the Board of Education is in agreement with the transfer of the property to Holy Ground Baptist Church for recreational use.”

According to County Clerk Susan Mabry, the county never received such notification.

Beyond who had first claim to the property, there were further questions as to where the deed of ownership actually was.

The most recent known document detailing the sale history of the property goes back to 1988. In that year, the property was given to the Roopville Youth Athletic Association, a predecessor to the present-day athletics booster club, from the Roopville Board of Education. Prior to that, the field belonged to what was Roopville High School.

In 2002, the property went to the county, a product of the Carroll County Recreation Department’s move to consolidate the youth athletic associations in Roopville, Whitesburg and Hulett. Less than two years later, the county stopped using the field for games, moving all sports to the existing recreation complex on Newnan Road.

In the meantime, the deed has either failed to be updated or has been lost in the transition. Daley said she will be looking at the existing deed next week to clarify any discrepancies about the ownership of the property.

None of that may matter if the school board decides it wants the land, and at this point, there is nothing to do but wait until the school board meets in September, said Commissioner Kevin Jackson.

“There’s no way that we can do anything until the school decides,” Jackson said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s on hold. Our decision is really no good until we hear from the school board.”

If the school board votes in a month to accept the land, it will then belong to the school system, and Carroll County Schools Board of Education Member Bernice Brooks said she wants the property for the schools.

“I’m leaning toward us providing that property to residents of that area but not to the church,” she said.

Over the next few weeks, the school board will undergo a discovery period to acquaint itself with the situation up to this point, at which time it will meet for the vote.

The school board’s next meeting is on Sept. 17.

Holy Ground Baptist Church had been leasing the property since 2006. As part of that lease agreement, the church would mow the grass, pay for utilities and maintain the facility. Outside of general upkeep, the church would not be required to pay for the land.