Council willing to accept debt to fund library remodel

The Washington City Council agreed to finance the remodeling of the former library to be used as the new dispatch center, assuming that several conditions are met. The city agreed to remodel the second floor of the former library only if: the Washington County Communications Commission decides to move the dispatch center there; the remodeling costs no more than $300,000; and the commission agrees to a lease of whatever length is necessary to pay back the cost of remodeling.

The council voted 5-0 in favor of the motion. Councilors Fred Stark, Bob Shepherd, Mike Roth, Karen Wilson-Johnson and Merlin Hagie voted for the motion, while councilor Russ Zieglowsky was absent.

The commission?s architect, John Mahon, has estimated that the cost of remodeling the second floor of the library in order to turn it into a dispatch center is about $273,000. Hagie said the commission would pay back that amount of money to the city through rent.

?There would be no direct cost to the city other than having to front the money,? said Hagie. ?The money would be reimbursed to the city, so there would be no out-of-pocket costs for this arrangement.?

Shepherd said that Washington County Attorney Larry Brock told the commission it could not incur debt, which prompted the commissioners to look for other sources of funding. Shepherd and Hagie serve as the city of Washington?s representatives on the commission.

Stark asked Shepherd and Hagie, ?Both of you people are representing us. Have you been pushing for this idea??

Shepherd responded, ?Fred, we have both tried to find the answer that was the fair and equitable answer for the whole thing. How many ideas have we had now, Merle??

?So far, it?s going in circles and I?m not sure if it?s clockwise or counter-clockwise,? said Hagie. ?It?s run the gauntlet different directions, so right now I don?t know who?s on first. The choice at hand is whether this council is willing to do this if it becomes necessary due to a vote by the communications board.?

Shepherd added, ?As a council, we can?t say, ?This is where it is.? That would be very presumptuous of us as only two of the six commissioners.?

At the June 27 commission meeting, Hagie said he preferred constructing a new building at Orchard Hill. He said the space at Orchard Hill would not be under pressure to be used for something else as would the former library and the former jail.

Hagie said at the June 27 meeting, ?A future city council could say, ?We?ve needed that space for some time. It?s been fun. Adiós.? It could happen. Do I see it happening now? No, but that?s with the present city council. Down the road, it is 100 percent possible. You have exactly the same issue at the old jail. A future board of supervisors might say that now is the time for a parking lot or an annex off the courthouse.?

Mayor Sandra Johnson remarked at Wednesday?s meeting, ?We have not formally indicated this space would be made available.?

?But this would be a positive move toward that, by basically saying that we would make this available,? said Wilson-Johnson.

Hagie replied, ?It has been informally discussed from day one, but it has never been formally discussed. This will say yes or no.?

Stark added, ?This has been one of the more interesting sagas as I?ve watched the newspapers and radios and how this thing has gone on and on. We need to give some support behind our two delegates,?

Johnson remarked, ?I want to continue the discussion long enough to clarify that we are requiring a lease arrangement. It is not optional. It is required to make that space available for rent.?

Shepherd said, ?I wanted 20 years, but they said that was too long. So, 10??

?Whatever it takes to repay that debt,? said Hagie. ?The commission will have to decide what their funding will allow in terms of duration. It will be whatever they feel the board can handle financially.?

?The lease protects both ends,? said Shepherd. ?It protects us and it protects them.?