COVINGTON, Ga. — Chuck Berry says he likely will give up his three decades of voluntary management of the Almon Community House if he is forced to sign a lease with the county government that radically changes the way he operates the building.

He also said a single lease contract containing the same terms for both the Almon building and other county-owned buildings that offer programming like the Washington Street center will not “fit well with what we do,” he said.

“It’s not a ‘one size fits all,’” Berry said.

The issue of requiring a lease arose after County Attorney Patrick Jaugstetter and Interim County Manager Jarvis Sims proposed a resolution to the Board of Commissioners June 7 calling for a standard lease for all county-owned buildings used by outside groups for non-governmental functions.

Jaugstetter and Sims said they made their recommendation in part to minimize the county’s liability from ownership of the buildings and provide more orderly management.

A range of groups manage the seven buildings, such as the Mansfield and Nelson Heights community centers, under agreements that allow a variety of uses. 

Two buildings — the Almon building and the T.K. Adams Band Room near the old Cousins school building — operate without leases. 

A nonprofit focused on preserving the area’s African-American history operates the Band Room building. 

Almon Community House operates more as an event facility than other county centers that have staff and programming, Berry said. 

The 2,400-square-foot building sits on about one-third of an acre and Almon community members typically rent it for events like baby showers and an annual church barbecue, he said.

“Things have been rolling along,” Berry said.

His grandfather was among a group of Almon community residents that helped build the cinder-block structure in the early 1950s when the community was considerably more rural and isolated before I-20 was built in the mid-1960s.

“It’s always been a part of the community,” Berry said.

A board of trustees originally managed the building and its site but all have since died, he said. Berry took over the voluntary roles of manager and maintenance director after another community member chose not to continue doing so in 2007, he said.

Berry said he did not know when the county government took control of the building and land. 

County elections officials used the building as a voting precinct for many years but opted to move the precinct to another location this year to provide more parking and building space, Berry said.

His role in the building’s management is collection of rental payments and using the money for the building’s upkeep and utilities, Berry said.

The county government provides some routine maintenance work but Berry said the “major stuff” has been funded from operating money he collected from its rental.

District 3 Commissioner Alana Sanders said she discovered the informal operating agreement after residents and developers said they had trouble finding how to lease it.

She said former county manager Lloyd Kerr told her that Berry managed the building. She later considered hosting a town hall meeting there “and I was told that no one had the keys but Mr. Berry.” 

However, Berry said neither Sanders nor any county staff members had contacted him about use of the Almon building for a town hall meeting in recent years.

The June 7 resolution had proposed requiring all occupants to vacate the buildings by Aug. 5 if they did not sign new, standardized leases by the following day.

The Board delayed action on the plan after Jaugstetter asked that he and Sims be allowed to revise the resolution to address requests from commissioners for leases that differentiate between the various functions of the buildings and prohibitions on alcohol usage and weapons.

He also suggested throwing out parts of the proposed resolution that contain deadlines for signing a lease and merely require users submit applications by Aug. 5.

Berry, who attended the June 7 meeting, owns and operates nationally-famous Berry’s Tree Farm on Mt. Tabor Road where his family has lived and raised Christmas trees and other crops for generations.

He also lives near the Almon Community House building which makes it somewhat convenient for him to care for the building. 

Berry said he manages the building as a service to the community — but does not want to go to the expense of establishing a nonprofit organization or be required to create programming.

“That effort is not really worth it,” he said.