County to enter Eaton Center lease agreement for county court facilities
NORWICH – A resolution authorizing county officials to enter a lease agreement with a Norwich office complex was passed by the county’s Board of Supervisors with only one opposing vote Monday, bringing the years-long search for additional space for the Chenango County court system one step closer to fruition.
County Board Chairman Lawrence Wilcox is expected to sign a lease agreement with Randal Hadeed, president and CEO of Who’s We?, LLC as early as today. Under the terms of the agreement, local legislators will enter into a 30-year lease for 20,000 square feet inside the Eaton Center (owned and operated by Who’s We?), located on Eaton Avenue in the City of Norwich. Space will be used to house the county’s family, surrogate and drug courts, as well as court clerks, the court library, the District Attorney’s Office, the Probation Department, and all respective staff.
County Attorney Alan Gordon explained the move of the county court facilities - presently located on the third floor of the County Office Building - is to satisfy requirements of the New York State Unified Court System that mandates additional space to accommodate a growing number of county, family and surrogate court cases in New York’s Sixth Judicial District.
“Rental became the option that proved most cost effective for us,” he said. “After we determined that rental was the best option and that we wanted to keep the court facilities in Norwich, the Eaton Center became our focus of attention.”
The lease agreement stipulates that the county pay a flat fee of $350,000 per year for the first ten years, not withstanding extraordinary events such as natural disaster or energy crisis that might significantly effect day-to-day costs of operation. After the first ten years, rent will be subject to inflation but capped at a 3 percent increase, which county bookkeepers say equates to an average $425,000 per year for years 10-20. The cap raises to 3.5 percent for years 20-30, meaning rent will round out to approximately $550,000 per year for the remaining ten years of the lease.
Add to that an estimated $1.2 million for utilities and another $600,000 designated for unforseen miscellaneous expenses over 30 years, and officials calculate total costs of the lease to reach roughly $15.1 million.
Despite the seemingly astronomical expense to rent, overall cost is actually 15 percent less expensive than building or rehabilitating a new court facility, according to County Treasurer William Craine. Moreover, leasing keeps property on the tax roll and eliminates routine maintenance and upkeep costs, he said.
Officials anticipate the move to the Eaton Center by summer, 2014, after Who’s We?, LLC completes necessary renovations to the leased space.
Subsequent to moving the county court facilities, officials plan to utilize the third floor of the County Office Building to house the county’s alcohol and drug abuse clinic, currently located at a separate leased facility on Leilani Way in the Town of Norwich - a move that could save county taxpayers up to $200,000 per year. Moving drug and alcohol services to the County Office Building will help offset costs at the Eaton Center by saving rent currently paid at the facility at Leilani Way. Additional costs can be saved by consolidating some administrative assistant positions that currently exist between the two facilities, Craine pointed out.
“I believe this (lease) is a less expensive alternative that satisfies the court’s needs,” he added. “And I believe we will eventually be able to operate these properties at the same or less costs than we can by keeping them in here (the County Office Building).
Counties across New York State have been required to provide office space for courts since the creation of the unified court system in 1977. In Chenango County, the law requires 12,100 square feet of space; but county officials say it’s beneficial to combine court facilities with related departments such as the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department.
The current lease agreement allows for a five-year lease renewal at the end of the initial 30-year agreement.
County Board Chairman Lawrence Wilcox is expected to sign a lease agreement with Randal Hadeed, president and CEO of Who’s We?, LLC as early as today. Under the terms of the agreement, local legislators will enter into a 30-year lease for 20,000 square feet inside the Eaton Center (owned and operated by Who’s We?), located on Eaton Avenue in the City of Norwich. Space will be used to house the county’s family, surrogate and drug courts, as well as court clerks, the court library, the District Attorney’s Office, the Probation Department, and all respective staff.
County Attorney Alan Gordon explained the move of the county court facilities - presently located on the third floor of the County Office Building - is to satisfy requirements of the New York State Unified Court System that mandates additional space to accommodate a growing number of county, family and surrogate court cases in New York’s Sixth Judicial District.
“Rental became the option that proved most cost effective for us,” he said. “After we determined that rental was the best option and that we wanted to keep the court facilities in Norwich, the Eaton Center became our focus of attention.”
The lease agreement stipulates that the county pay a flat fee of $350,000 per year for the first ten years, not withstanding extraordinary events such as natural disaster or energy crisis that might significantly effect day-to-day costs of operation. After the first ten years, rent will be subject to inflation but capped at a 3 percent increase, which county bookkeepers say equates to an average $425,000 per year for years 10-20. The cap raises to 3.5 percent for years 20-30, meaning rent will round out to approximately $550,000 per year for the remaining ten years of the lease.
Add to that an estimated $1.2 million for utilities and another $600,000 designated for unforseen miscellaneous expenses over 30 years, and officials calculate total costs of the lease to reach roughly $15.1 million.
Despite the seemingly astronomical expense to rent, overall cost is actually 15 percent less expensive than building or rehabilitating a new court facility, according to County Treasurer William Craine. Moreover, leasing keeps property on the tax roll and eliminates routine maintenance and upkeep costs, he said.
Officials anticipate the move to the Eaton Center by summer, 2014, after Who’s We?, LLC completes necessary renovations to the leased space.
Subsequent to moving the county court facilities, officials plan to utilize the third floor of the County Office Building to house the county’s alcohol and drug abuse clinic, currently located at a separate leased facility on Leilani Way in the Town of Norwich - a move that could save county taxpayers up to $200,000 per year. Moving drug and alcohol services to the County Office Building will help offset costs at the Eaton Center by saving rent currently paid at the facility at Leilani Way. Additional costs can be saved by consolidating some administrative assistant positions that currently exist between the two facilities, Craine pointed out.
“I believe this (lease) is a less expensive alternative that satisfies the court’s needs,” he added. “And I believe we will eventually be able to operate these properties at the same or less costs than we can by keeping them in here (the County Office Building).
Counties across New York State have been required to provide office space for courts since the creation of the unified court system in 1977. In Chenango County, the law requires 12,100 square feet of space; but county officials say it’s beneficial to combine court facilities with related departments such as the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department.
The current lease agreement allows for a five-year lease renewal at the end of the initial 30-year agreement.
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