OZARK, Mo. -- The Christian County Commission voted 3-0 on Thursday to accept an agreement with the State Emergency Management Agency that lets the county move ahead with acquiring and razing historic Riverside Inn. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a $1.17 million grant last summer for Christian County to buy and clear the property, which is next to the Finley River, a mile and a half north of the Ozark square.

Presiding Commissioner John Grubaugh says the county will now advertise for Requests for Proposals for appraising the property. An appraiser could be picked by the end of the month, and the appraiser would then likely have about 30 days to do its work.

While the appraiser is at work, Grubaugh said the county will also do an environmental assessment to make sure the county won't have to clean up any hazardous material, and have a title search done to make sure the property can be acquired with a clean title.

After the appraisal, the county and the Riverside Inn's owners, Lisa and Eric Engel, would negotiate over price. Either side could still pull out of the deal up until the closing date for the sale.

Grubaugh wouldn't put a timeline on how long the process could take. If Christian County buys the property, it would have 90 days from the closing date to remove the structure from the property.

Grubaugh said, since the Engels have been able to buy flood insurance in the late 1990s, they've received about $740,000 through the National Flood Insurance program. That's why FEMA thought it would save taxpayers money to buy the property under the Repetitive Flooding grant program.

Riverside Inn flooded twice in October, three times last year, and other times over the years. After it flooded in the early 1990s, it was closed for about three years. At that time, Christian County didn't belong to the National Flood Insurance program, so the owners couldn't buy flood insurance.

Riverside started out as a speakeasy in 1923. For many, it's famous for its fried chicken, as well as a special place for banquets and to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and other special occasions.