The Geauga County Board of Health discussed a draft lease agreement for space in the new county office building in Claridon Township during its July 24 meeting.
The Geauga County Board of Health discussed a draft lease agreement for space in the new county office building in Claridon Township during its July 24 meeting.
Deputy County Administrator Linda Burhenne and Commissioner Jim Dvorak were in attendance to discuss concerns and questions.
“On the advice of the county administrator, (Gerry Morgan), he said go ahead and send it to you guys so you could at least see what we’ve proposed and then you can give us reaction to what we’ve presented to you — if there’s something else you want to see in there, or you have questions about anything you see, you need clarification, this is the time to tell us,” said Burhenne, who drafted the agreement.
GPH was not charged rent in their old location at the previous county offices in Chardon, which they were told they must vacate. Following their move to the new building on Ravenwood Drive, the county proposed they pay rent in the amount of $8-per-square foot.
GPH had disagreed they should have to pay, citing previous Ohio Attorney General opinions, which they recently learned do not apply to them as a combined health district.
Basement vs. Finished Office
Board member Carolyn Brakey questioned how certain areas of the building were being charged.
“I was a little taken aback that we would be charged the full price for the unfinished storage area in the basement, the same as the finished space on the third floor,” she said.
Burhenne asked Brakey what she would like to see instead, noting the contract begins at $2-per-square foot in the first year, which she believed reasonable.
Brakey proposed the basement storage area be charged at a lower rate, such as a dollar per square foot, adding she was under the impression the storage area was an add-on and not included in what they would have to pay for.
“Just like we’re not paying for the lobby space, for example,” she said.
“Well with the lobby, it’s shared by everyone,” Burhenne replied.
Board member Ashley Jones asked if anyone shared their storage space and was told it is GPH specific.
“Each (department) has their own storage space,” Litke added.
Burhenne said while departments like Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District have space in the basement, she has never seen their agreement.
GSWCD’s agreement is also paid for by the state, Brakey remarked.
“It’s not apples to apples,” Jones said. “(Which) is kind of the point, you know, finished space with carpeting and (air conditioning) versus unfinished storage space.”
Burhenne asked if they would be seeking a dollar per square foot for the storage space in perpetuity, to which Brakey replied yes.
The Yearly Increase
Jones asked Burhenne about the agreement’s yearly increase.
“Is there a cap on that?” she asked. “This is a five-year term, what happens after that?
Brakey responded it was written as a one-year renewal and they’d have to re-negotiate the lease after five years.
Burhenne said the rent amount is based on what it costs the county for GPH to be in the building.
“In terms of, we’re paying your utilities, we are mowing the lawn, we are clearing the snow, we are providing custodial — as far as I know — and if we’re not, please tell me,” she said. “The reason we didn’t approach you about rent at all for a year was because we wanted to wait a year to see what it cost for a year.”
Offering $2- and $3-per-square foot for the first couple of years means the county would take a loss for GPH to be in the building, Burhenne added.
Board member Mark Rood raised a concern about profiting.
“We’re a public health entity, like you are a public entity, as well. And when we send out a bill for services that we provide, like a sewer inspection or the like, we’re not allowed to make a profit on that,” he said. “And so, I don’t see necessarily why it would be in the county’s interest to make a profit on us being present in a building that was already financed by the bond that built the building.”
Burhenne replied the county is not interested in making a profit, only to be made whole, and explained how rent in the building works for other entities.
There is a cost allocation plan for agencies in the building who receive federal funding and an outside consultant is hired to figure out what each federally-funded agency owes, she said.
“What we did for you is just, ‘What does it cost us on a square-foot basis to run this building, how many square feet do you have,’” she said.
GPH’s rent is on the low end for the building. The highest rent in the building is the Bureau of Motor Vehicles at $18-per-square foot, Burhenne said. GSWCD is charged around $14-per-square foot, but is reimbursed by the state.
“So, there’s different rental agreement structures in place based on the reimbursement model,” Jones said, an assertion Burhenne agreed with.
Most of the people using a large amount of space, like GPH, are paying through cost allocation, Burhenne said.
The Start Date
Brakey raised concerns about the proposed start date.
“The one thing that stood out to me as being significantly different than what we’ve talked about in prior conversations is the start date is Sept. 1, 2024,” Brakey said. “My understanding was it was going to be Jan. 1.”
Burhenne replied she didn’t know anything about a start date and had thrown in September just to have something in.
“Part of the issue is we have our budget set already for this year,” Brakey said.
On the Geauga County Commissioners’ side of things, part of the issue the Geauga Automatic Data Processing board is currently seeking a home in the county offices, which involves GPH giving up part of their own space, Burhenne said.
“We can still execute that agreement and not be paying rent,” Brakey replied, explaining the health board can make a motion to hand over the space for ADP and can separately execute an agreement that starts Jan. 1.
She said is against handing over space for ADP until the lease agreement is almost ready to be executed.
The board and county officials plan to continue discussion after hearing from the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office upon review of the lease.
