CAMDEN, Tenn.- Benton County Mayor Brett Lashlee has invited the public to an open house to view the property formerly known as the Old Walmart Property.

The open house will be on Saturday from 12-3 p.m.

The public will have limited access to the inside based on attendance on-site and deteriorating conditions, posing obstructions, or liability.

Access will be from Post Oak Avenue due to deteriorating conditions of the driveway located on Highway 641.

Sale documents will be accessible and viewable to the public upon supervision.

The property was purchased by the Benton County government this past spring after a vote by the County Commission.

Benton County Mayor Brett Lashlee offered this statement about the open house:

“Whether the public has an opinion whether we should or shouldn’t have purchased the property, or related to being supportive or non-supportive of projects related to what can be done with the building, the fact of the matter is the county now owns the building. From my evaluations as County Mayor, I am taking an approach as to what is the best disposition of this building. Do we invest into it and if so with what approach? Government use or commercial/industrial use?  Is it better to sell this to the best offer possible on the public market that recoups our investment? Do we lease/rent it and if so to what kind of tenant?

“There are several options we can pursue on the future of this property. Conducting the open house will allow us to better gauge the utility of this building, obtain public opinion more accurately, and plan ahead as leaders. This building is now a county-owned property and the problems won’t just go away or opportunities surrounding it won’t happen overnight. We may have several open houses, but knowing this is a hot-button issue with the public right now, I wanted to begin offering the opportunity to the public to see things for themselves more up-close.”