Private Sale Of Jefferson County Government Buildings?

Committee To Weigh Proposal For New County Government Complex

The concept of a new Jefferson County Complex, that would be the home to most County offices, has been a topic of off and on discussion for several years. However, more recently the viability of such a project has moved to the forefront with the Jefferson County Facilities Committee and a document has been generated that estimates the cost associated with a new facility, which came in at $10,076,800 and gives numbers for the sale of current County buildings at $1,551,773 from private sale and $1,135,000 at auction. The document justifies the need for a new County Complex, which would be located adjacent to the current Justice Center, with estimated numbers for renovation of current County buildings. It also assumes that the current buildings would be sold to offset a portion of the cost for a new facility and provides valuations based upon “ subjective opinion relevant to age of each building and condition” and notes that the report for the valuations does not represent an inspection process. All County buildings – County Mayor/Clerk’s Office, Central Office Education Building and Annex, County Finance Office, Agriculture Extension Office-were listed in Average/Good Condition. No valuation was presented for the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse but it was included in the estimated costs of needs for County facilities.

Outlined in the document was the estimated of cost for items such as painting (Finance Office @ $12,000 – DOE @ $6,000 – Historic Jefferson County Courthouse @ $170,000 – Mayors/Clerk’s Office @ $5,000 – UT Extension @ $5100 and Miscellaneous @ $30,000) which totaled around $228,000. It also included brick repair for the Courthouse and DOE @ $155,000 as well as total county building carpeting/flooring @ nearly $65,000 and interior lighting fixtures @ $82,000. Other high ticket estimates were for electrical upgrades at nearly $1.1 million dollars, with the bulk of that coming from the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse @ $950,000, and HVAC at more than a half a million dollars, with the bulk of that coming from the DOE @ $442,000. Though each building had several upgrades and renovations listed, others that were general to the County included security camera system @ $110,000, IT Cabling/telephone system @ $500,000, Parking lot paving and sealing @ $80,000 and landscaping @ $25,000. The total estimated tab for the listed upgrades and renovations to County buildings was $4,173,620. Valuations for the buildings were prepared by Ed Franklin of Franklin Realty. There was no indication on the document as to which contractor provided the estimated costs for renovation and upgrades, nor was the portion of the document that provided the estimated costs signed.

Jefferson County Commission Chairman Carmichael stated “These numbers are exaggerated to plead the case for a new County Complex and the bottom line is that we can’t afford to have throw away buildings in Jefferson County. Not maintaining buildings was a major complaint of the County Commission with the Department of Education during the debate about the school renovation projects and we know that as a county we can’t afford to go down that road. We do not need to encumber the tax payers with anymore debt for at least another five years. If normal maintenance and upkeep had been done on these buildings then many of the projects listed would have already been completed. We need to deal with the necessities, like the mold and HVAC, now and prioritize a list of the other items. It is all about needs, wants and have to haves. We already have what we have to have in the current buildings, we will take care of the needs and work our way to the wants with the funds available and no new burden to the tax payer.”

Budget Committee Chairman Scarlett stated that he had not, yet, seen the document in question but had concerns regarding burdening the tax payer with a tax increase to fund a new County complex. He said  “If we pay attention to our finances, we can afford to address our needs, without raising taxes, by taking on projects over the next few years but we cannot afford to build a new $10 million dollar complex without raising taxes.” Scarlett, who has served as Budget Committee Chairman for four of his six years on County Commission, wants to see a deliberate plan of action for the renovation and upgrades of the County buildings. He stated “ There has been no sense of urgency or importance for the state of the County buildings, other than the issue of putting up a chair rail which was apparently considered important. It is simple and clear that Jefferson County cannot afford to build a County Complex without raising taxes but we can afford to address the needs of our County buildings if we do so in a structured, deliberate way without the need to raise taxes for the projects.”

The document will be presented to the Facilities Committee at their next meeting. It is unclear if the County Commission will address the document prior to the Facilities Committee meeting.