Marion County Council members reviewed a lease agreement with the City of Marion regarding a new fire substation agreement. The agreement is a 99-year lease to allow the county to house one ambulance and its crew in is sleeping quarters, Marion County Attorney Chuck McLain explained to council members on May 12 during council’s meeting.
In the agreement, the county is agreeing to pay the city $36,000 over four years and agreeing to picking up a part of the building’s utility bills, he said. “This is nothing more than a lease … They’ll have to adopt an ordinance to lease this space to the county,” McLain said, adding that he will submit the agreement to city officials so their council can agree and move forward.
Council postponed signing off on the lease until it can meet to discuss the budget. On Council member Elista Smith’s urging, council should add those payments in to the county’s budget. County Administrator Tim Harper said a budget workshop will be on May 21 at 6 p.m. in the county’s administration building.
Harper said he wanted council to be aware that work on clearing Catfish Creek had not yet started and than there were still seven to eight landowners, of about 60, from whom permission to go onto easements had not been received.
“Most of the problem is out-of-state land owners … we may proceed with other avenues or work around it,” Harper said.
Harper also reported to council that the anticipated shortfall in what the county receives from the state in local government funding will be at least $368,000 less for the 2009-10 budget.
Following a closed session to discuss a legal matter, a contractual matter, an economic development issue and a personnel issue, council reentered the open session.
McLain asked council for approval to allow the treasurer to execute an engagement letter with attorneys in New Orleans. Council approved the action. Additionally, council was asked to get its approval to allowing Carolina AAC, a company that is seeking to construct a new industry in the county, its permission to apply for a grant under the federal economic stimulus program.
The grant has to be administered through the county. Though the measure passed, Smith said she voted no, not because she doesn’t want to see economic development in the county, but because she could not assured “who will be holding those bonds, for this entity.”
“I just want to make sure we don’t overstep our boundaries,” she said.
Council authorized Harper to send a letter to a county resident who has complained about some damage done to her property by the roads and bridges department. Harper is to respond to the resident in writing, saying the county will take care of damages and that written estimate will need to be submitted to the county.
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