Following a last-minute executive session, the LaGrange City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the sale of the Department of Family and Children Services building to the state.

The possibility of the sale has been known for some time among councilmembers, but state approval was not received until the afternoon before the meeting.

“The state of Georgia has approached the city about purchasing the DFACS building,” City Manager Meg Kelsey said. “As you’ll recall, the city did build that building and has a lease with the state. We had negotiated a price of $1 million for them to purchase that building.”

While it is unusual for the city council to move forward on any type of deal from initial public announcement to vote in one meeting, they did agree to vote on the sale Tuesday since it was the last council meeting before the state’s requested sale date.

“They contacted us today, which is why this is late notice, and we apologize for that, but they are ready to close on this next week,” Kelsey said. “So, we do need authorization from the council to sell this property.”

According to officials, the use of the building and available services are not expected to change.

“There is no anticipated relocation of DFACS or any of the services there,” Mayor Jim Thornton said. “It is literally just a title transfer from the city to the state that will occur.”

The LaGrange City Council is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at 208 Ridley Ave.