Q&A with Hall Co. official on building purchase

GAINESVILLE - Hall County will pocket more than half-a-million dollars in rent from Liberty Mutual over the next 14 months before the county completely takes over the company's Browns Bridge Road building.

That is one thing gleaned from an interview with Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton Wednesday, two days after the county closed on the purchase of the building which it will use to centralize many county now offices now scattered around town.

Q - Is the county now paying rent on any of the buildings/units county offices occupy that are not county-owned? If so, which ones and how much on each?

A - The Health Department pays $197,520 per year for the Thompson Bridge Road building rent, from state funds. We pay $90,777 per for the election office. There may be additional leases which could be terminated when we leave the downtown area, however, we have more work to do before we can make that determination.

Q - Does the county know how much it will get from the city for the sale of its half of the Joint Administration Building?

A - Not at this time. We will propose sell our share of the building for the appraised value, the same way we sold our share of the 711 Green St. building to the Hall County School System.

Q - How much rent does the county expect to get from Liberty Mutual until Liberty Mutual vacates the Browns Bridge Road site?

A - $38,462 per month for 1 floor with about 25,000 square feet of space. That equals $461,532 per year or $538,468 for the 14 months we expect them to need the building.

Q - Did the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum question in March 2009spell out how the money realized from the tax revenue would be spent?

A - Exhibit A of the SPLOST VI resolution said:

a) 1936 Historic Courthouse Rehabilitation
● Functional Rehabilitation of the 1936 Court House and restoration historic state court,

b) Courthouse expansion into the Annex
● Convert the Courthouse Annex space currently occupied by the Administration into court room space to accommodate the future growth of the courts, and
c) Administration Building
● Relocation of administrative functions to a new site to allow the courts to expand into the Annex & relocation from JAB (Joint Administration Building)

TOTALS $17,000,000