A deal that would give Copiah-Lincoln Community College the land it needs for a fine arts building moved closer to completion Tuesday.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors gave President Virginia Salmon the authority to execute documents related to the sale of the 11-acre property, located between Co-Lin and John Pitchford Parkway.

Once the sale of the land, now owned by the Seyfarth family, is complete, the county will transfer the land to the college, said county attorney Marion Smith.

&uot;School funds are paying for it,&uot; Smith said. &uot;The county is not putting any money into this project.&uot;

Smith said the city and county had the opportunity to try to seize the Seyfarth land by imminent domain, which means the land deal would have wound up in court.

&uot;That was just a fallback position,&uot; said Smith, who added that does not look likely in this deal.

The county is acting as a conduit in the land deal, said county attorney Marion Smith, because the city and county owned the land where Co-Lin and Alcorn now sit.

&uot;The city and county both want to support it because it benefits the city and county,&uot; Smith said of the fine arts building.

Co-Lin and Alcorn State University, located on the same campus, would share the fine arts building. Legislation authorizing their joint ownership — a first for higher education institutions in the state — passed the Legislature last year, but the $10 million needed for the building did not pass the Legislature.

&uot;It’s really an important piece of property to us,&uot; said Dr. Ronnie Nettles, dean of Co-Lin’s Natchez campus.