Solving space needs at Betz Farm

Happy Tuesday! Two morsels on our plate today:

​1. County government space needs.
​2. Betz Farm.

— Few issues are as costly and time-wasting as decisions about government space.

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The way this should work is the county hires an expert to look at all the vacant space in government buildings, decides who needs what, and then divvy it out. 

The way it works in real life is commissioners do whatever they feel like at the moment.

And that’s how Tuesday’s agenda looks. With no backup information, or even a simple explanation, the agenda item simply reads: “Provide staff direction and consensus on option(s) to address space needs.” (Here's the full board agenda.)

The agenda says space needs are a strategic plan “call for action” in 2024. Not sure what that means. If there’s a true thought-out strategic plan for county government office space, it’ll be a first.

I spent an hour reviewing my old Chronicle stories about space needs, and what a headache that produced. Twenty years of talk, then action, then reversing that action, and then more talk, then more action. NONE of it — and I can’t stress this enough — came as a result of strategic planning. 

The late Commissioner Dennis Damato, a rare true visionary (none before him and, so far, none since him), conducted a space needs analysis on his own in 2008 that was as good as any consultant’s work. He concluded the county should build an office for the supervisor of elections, county commissioners, and administrative staff, leaving the Courthouse for courts.

Commissioners loved the plan, but not the money it took to do that. The plan eventually faded into the mist.

So here we are once again, another County Commission agenda, no backup, no idea or clue what’s on the table if anything. Since I have as much experience in this as the decision-makers, I offer some takes:

— The Adams building shouldn’t even be considered. I wrote last summer that it was worth a conversation. Since then, no conversation. I cannot even fathom what strategic plan would include buying an office building that has no assigned parking, is a five-minute walk to the Courthouse, and removes private property off the tax roll. The asking price is $2 million.

During a space-needs discussion two years ago, Chairman Holly Davis said: “We need to leverage the heck out of our unused space.” No reason why that observation would change.

— Several months ago, Commissioner Jeff Kinnard suggested the county talk with the city of Inverness about accessing space in city hall. Did that idea fall into a black hole? Whatever happened to it?

— We do everything online these days reducing the need to conduct business in person. It would seem there is less need for government office space than 20 years ago.

I am hoping Tuesday’s discussion is about how to move forward, not a plan to buy this or renovate that.

—The prospective buyer of Betz Farm seeks another 90 days of due diligence. But that’s not the story.

Basically, James Dicks wants the County Commission to support his development plan before he plunks down $6 million to buy the property. 

It was set for a vote, then yanked off Tuesday’s agenda with no explanation.

Two issues: Extend the closing deadline from Feb. 29 to April 29. Since we’re a year into this process, and on our second potential buyer, what’s another few months? Though, I’m not sure how that extension happens without a board vote. Guess we’ll find out Tuesday.

The second issue is the exact one I previously mentioned: Selling Betz Farm to a developer who has pending zoning issues with the county places commissioners in a potential conflict of interest. And that’s exactly what’s happening.

James Dicks is pursuing the Betz Farm property. He also just lost a unanimous vote to build houses on the Pine Ridge Golf Club and is in the preliminary steps to take the county to court over that denial.

Now he wants the county to bless his Betz Farm development plan before he agrees to buy the property. Dicks is using the Pine Ridge denial to bolster his position.

That’s a precedent I don’t want to even think about. I don’t know how the county can make a policy decision on property it is selling to someone else.

My guess is county staffers have the same concern. 

How do they fix it? Well, common sense is to promise the buyer nothing other than standard fare involved in a purchase like this. If he walks so it goes. We are out not one red penny if that property stays in public hands for another week, month, or year.

Space needs and Betz Farm. Solutions anyone?

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