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2003-1377-Minutes for Meeting October 28,2003 Recorded 11/4/2003DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL NANCY BLANKENSHIP, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL III I I I I I I I) (III II III) III III 20-137 CLERKDS CJ 2003.1311 11/04/2003 04;37;50 PM DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK CERTIFICATE PAGE -r C - This page must be included if document is re-recorded. Do Not remove from original document. Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1130 NW Harriman St., Bend, OR 97701-1947 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 388-4752 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF ADMINISTRATIVE LIAISON DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2003 Commissioners' Meeting Room - Administration Building - 1130 NW Harriman St., Bend Present were Commissioners Dennis R. Luke, Tom De Wolf and Michael M. Daly. Also present were Mike Maier, County Administrator; Anna Johnson and Susan Ross, Commissioners' Office; and Mark Pilliod, Legal Counsel. In attendance for part of the meeting were George Read, Community Development; Tammy Credicott, Property Manager; Steve Scott, Real Estate Broker of Record; and Bruce Churchill of Hap Taylor Company. Also present were media representatives Barney Lerten of bend.com and The Bugle, and Chris Barker of the Bulletin. The meeting began at 9:30 a.m. 1. Discussion of Proposed Hap Taylor Company Lease. Mark Pilliod explained that some changes have been made to the proposed lease agreement. These changes clarify how the taxes would be handled, the allowed uses, how to address a Level I environmental assessment and what would be done in the event that the City of Redmond needs to run a road through the property. Hap Taylor Company will pay the property taxes, which are estimated between $3,000 and $4,000 per year; and the environmental assessment cost will be split, with the County and Hap Taylor Company paying approximately $900 each. The City will be able to place a road through the property if necessary, and the lease amount would be adjusted accordingly should that take place. Commissioner Daly explained that he does not have any objection to the lease, but wanted input from the City of Redmond prior to approving it. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Page 1 of 4 Pages DEWOLF: Move approval, with the changes described. DALY: Second. VOTE: DALY: Yes. DEWOLF: Yes. LUKE: Chair votes yes. At this time, George Read provided some details regarding the City of Redmond's desire to have shovel -ready land available. Since the County's property does not fit into the criteria for shovel -ready land at this time, it is instead on the state's list of "opportunity" sites. He added that the La Pine industrial park is ready now, and is eligible for federal highway dollars if it falls into the top 25 sites. Mr. Read also said that regulatory reform is needed, because it doesn't make sense to require that all of the improvements be done first. He stated that the County should participate with Redmond on regulatory reform to make properties easier to market. Mr. Read also explained that there needs to be a master plan done on the Redmond property, and there could be grant funds available for this process. Commissioner Daly said that perhaps offering ground leases to companies would make sense. Commissioner Luke pointed out that one of the problems the airport has had in attracting companies is their requirement for a ground lease; many companies prefer to buy the property. It was pointed out that Redmond might have a higher need for residential property, instead of industrial, during the next twenty years. This fits into the "mixed use" concept that cities are encouraging. Mr. Read said that the issue of the County's Redmond property might come before the Board within the next couple of months. Steve Scott, Commissioner DeWolf and Commissioner Luke agreed that the property should be partitioned so that it will be easier to sell later, even if lot line adjustments need to be made to accommodate a specific user. The Board pointed out that they would be meeting with representatives of the City of Redmond in about a week and the plan is to discuss this issue at that time; they requested that Mr. Read also attend. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Page 2 of 4 Pages 2. Discussion of the Responsibilities of the Real Estate Broker of Record and the Property Manager. Commissioner DeWolf gave a brief overview of the history of the Property Management Department and why the County contracted for real estate services. He said that at its peak the Department had 3.5 full time employees. It was decided that the County should sell County -owned properties to fund the Becky Johnson Center project and the Human Services Building project rather than going to the taxpayers for funding. Since then many County properties have been marketed for that purpose, and most that fit the criteria have already been sold. Just a few "problem" properties still remain to be sold. Mike Maier added that there was enough need at that point for 1.5 or 2 employees; he had urged the Board not to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Jim Bonnarens, since the broker of record could handle the sales. Ms. Credicott has a variety of other duties that are time consuming and she needs office assistance now just to handle the normal day to day work. The idea behind contracting with a Realtor is that once the majority of the properties had been sold, additional outside help would not be needed and the contract could end; no one would have to be let go from the County. Commissioner DeWolf stated that some changes over the past few years have highlighted the need for Mr. Scott's services. In particular, properties had to be acquired for the various County building projects and the development in La Pine. These projects were not anticipated at the time the contract was drafted. Mr. Scott has also assisted Susan Ross with a number of issues. Mr. Maier emphasized that the projects the County is now handling were planned, but most have happened sooner than expected. The only anticipated major future project is the expansion of law enforcement facilities. Commissioner Daly said that when he reviewed the amount of commissions paid over the past five years, which amounts to about $500,000, he felt that perhaps the County could have had an in-house real estate person who would not raise concerns about a potential conflict of interest. He stressed that he is worried about the perception of a conflict of interest since Mr. Scott does do work for others and it is not always clear to Commissioner Daly if Mr. Scott is truly representing the needs of the County. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Page 3 of 4 Pages A lively discussion then took place which, for the most part, clarified the issue. Mr. Maier stated that it would have been unwise to hire an employee to handle the real estate transactions because this was expected to be short-term in nature, and it would not be fair to hire someone just to let them go when the properties had been sold. Commissioner Luke added that some of the sales were not planned on at the beginning, such as the sale of the old fairgrounds property; and that in some cases Mr. Scott had to split the commission with another agency so he did not receive all of the commission dollars that have been paid. 3. Other Business. Mark Pilliod explained that an RFP process should have been done before hiring a contractor to provide training to County employees. He will be meeting with Debbie Legg of Personnel and others to determine how to address this situation, since the training program was scheduled to begin in about a week. Being no further issues discussed, the meeting ended at 3:10 p.m. DATED this 28th Day of October 2003 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. ATTEST: (�?qVu-L Recording Secretary Dennis R. Luke, Chair 4ToDeWolf, Commissioner M. Daly, Con*ssioner Minutes of Administrative Liaison Tuesday, October 28, 2003 Page 4 of 4 Pages