Dougherty judge to make decision in school demolition case on Friday

ALBANY — The fate of a planned residential nursing education facility, at least at its location across Jefferson Street from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and the four structures slated for demolition if the project goes through, could be settled by the end of the week.

At the conclusion of a Wednesday-afternoon hearing, Dougherty Superior Court Judge Victoria Darrisaw indicated that she would make a decision by 5 p.m. Friday. The judge gave attorneys from the four entities involved in the decision until 2 p.m. Friday to submit their recommendations on how she should proceed as well as any related documentation.

“Present me with your proposals (by Friday) of what you want me to do,” the judge said. “The world was created in seven days. I’ll make my decision in seven days.”

The seven days was a reference to the injunction temporarily halting demolition at the site, which was signed early on Saturday at the request of the Albany-Dougherty Historic Preservation Commission.

The day before that, the city of Albany issued demolition permits and Phoebe began work that day until weather forced a halt.

The HPC is challenging the Albany City Commission’s overruling of its 4-3 vote to prevent the demolition of two houses that date back to the early 1900s, a medical building from the 1960s and the former Albany High School and Albany Middle School building that was completed in 1925.

Commissioners overturned the HPC’s decision with a unanimous vote and issued Certificates of Appropriateness, stating that eight-member body that has an equal number of city and Dougherty County appointees, “abused its discretion” in its denial of Phoebe’s request to demolish the structures.

Aligned against the Historic Preservation Commission on Friday were attorneys representing the city, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Inc. and the Albany-Dougherty Hospital Authority.

Albany attorney Phil Cannon, who represented the HPC, told the judge that in his opinion city code and state law give the commission the authority to appeal decisions of the City Commission in Superior Court. Cannon initially asked for a one-week continuance to allow him to familiarize himself more thoroughly with the case on which he has only spent days, a motion that was denied by Darrisaw, who cited the timeliness of the issue.

Phoebe President and CEO Scott Steiner recently said a significant delay could push the $40 million “Living and Learning Center” that would train Albany Technical College students for nursing careers beyond its planned fall 2024 opening date.

Cannon argued that the HPC has been authorized to carry out certain responsibilities. He likened the situation to the HPC being severed from its parent body, in this case through the city’s decision to ignore its recommendation and overturn its decision not to issue Certificates of Appropriateness.

“There is no state law that gives the HPC the authority,” Albany City Attorney Nathan Davis said in response to Cannon’s argument.

The City Commission refused a request for the city to pay for the HPC’s legal representation in the case, and last month replaced all four of its appointees to the HPC, a development to which Cannon referred.

The City Commission also based its rejection of the HPC’s vote and approval of Phoebe’s request on that applicant’s wishes, not on the validity of the HPC’s reasoning for rejection, he said.

Another decision for Darrisaw is whether the HPC has standing to bring a case against the city.

“If you don’t have standing, there’s nothing for this court to decide,” she said.

File Photo: Carlton Fletcher