At the last county commission meeting, it was discussed that Liberty Mutual might lease 14,000 square feet in the building at the corner of Browns Bridge and McEver roads.
However, the county's Interim Finance Director Lisa Johnsa reported Monday that leasing that space is not an option. Johnsa said terms for the tax-exempt bonds used to purchase Liberty Mutual do not allow more than 10% of the facility to be leased to a private entity, and 14,000 square feet is approximately 17% of the total square footage.
The commission plans more discussion on Thursday about whether to move the Administration, Tax Assessors and Tax Commissioner offices to the new building.
The county - in announcing plans last year to buy the building - said the building would be used to house a number of county offices now located in or around the downtown area. But the Gainesville City Council and the city's representative on the commission, Ashley Bell, oppose moving key county offices out of the central business district.
AMBULANCE FEES
Also Monday, the county commission discussed a proposal from Hall County Fire and EMS Chief David Kimbrell to increase ambulance fees. During the discussion, it was noted that these fees have long fell below the rates of the surrounding areas and are lower than the new Medicare allowance. Also, the costs for equipment and supplies have increased. (See earlier story.)
SHERIFF'S COUNTY ATTORNEY REQUEST
Chairman Tom Oliver said that on Thursday he will ask the commission to vote to allow Sheriff Steve Cronic to continue using Bill Blalock as the county attorney until a permanent replacement is hired. Cronic's request, in a letter to the commission, was made public last week.
Blalock, along with County Administrator Charley Nix, Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton and Finance Director Michaela Thompson were dismissed early last month in a move engineered by newly-elected commissioners Craig Lutz and Scott Gibbs and Bell.
An Atlanta firm is handling county legal affairs on an interim basis until the post is filled permanently.
INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
Meanwhile, Interim County Administrator Jock Connell said Monday the Request for Proposals for a new county attorney has now been published. Connell also said there have been 33 applications to date for the job of finance director. And, he said he has asked Planning Director Randy Knighton to head up research on outsourcing some county services now provided by county employees.
Liberty Mutual building
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/2/236378