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08/16/2006: "Council To Move To Carlson Building"

(County Council meets at Islanders Bank to discuss space needs)

Perhaps having to once again surrender the County Council meeting room to District Court for a trial, or maybe the elected officials and employees were finally convincing in their arguments, but for whatever reason, the Council finally, and unexpectedly, took action on Tuesday to address the need for new, and more, office space for county government.

In a unanimous vote, the Council decided to move the Council and the County Administrator's offices to the newly acquired Carlson building, and directed the County Administrator to form a committee of county officials to bring a recommendation to the Council, as to who else should move to the new building. Chairman Lichter stated that he was also in favor of Administrator Pete Rose's idea of constructing a new Council Hearing Room that could "serve as a community hub".


With the move, the Council will effectively be returning their meeting room in the courthouse back into a courtroom, which it originally was designed for. Before the addition to the courthouse was made some years ago, both Superior and District Court used what is now called the Council Meeting Room as their courtroom. But even with the construction of the new Courtroom, there has still been a need for a Courtroom dedicated to District Court, for when there are two trials going on at the same time, District Court has been forced to use the Council meeting room. The Council decision means that District Court will also have their old offices back for the Judge and court staff; including a small meeting room that was once the jury meeting room, and now may become one again.

After the vote, the Council received a number of positive comments (and a thank you from their own staff) from the few elected officials who had shown up for an informal meeting of what had been billed on the "Discussion/Other Action Agenda" as item number five: "Space Issues for the Courthouse and Carlson Building", and found a Council willing to forgo any further discussion, and move forward on a move to new quarters. What was not decided at the meeting was to what degree will the Carlson building be remodel, and how much will it cost. Both Councilman Ranker and Myhr had expressed concerns about where the money is to come from, and the need to not waste funds on remodels if the Council later decides to demolish the Carlson building to construct a new administrative building; perhaps in conjunction with the Town of Friday Harbor, or with some other public organization.

The Money Issue
Councilman Ranker told the Council that he would like to begin the process of providing the resources "necessary to produce a worthwhile and efficient facility", but Myhr cautioned that "Throwing out those terms without knowing the details does not satisfy my concerns about fiscal responsibility". Ranker responded that he wanted and update on possible funding sources for future construction, in case the Council commits to a new administrative building. Chairman Lichter suggested another consultant should be hired to conduct a study and advise the Council on future needs, but Ranker said "I am hesitant to spend 20 or 30 K for a consultant", and that he preferred to simply let the County Administrator and the staff decide if a consultant is needed or not.

Administrator Rose listed a number of possible future funding sources, some including voter approval, and some not, such as a new Real Estate Excise Tax (REET), but cautioned the Council they needed to be careful about imposing it without voter approval, since it would raise the cost of real estate. Myhr once again expressed concern by telling the Council that "We need to keep this in perspective. In the last year we have purchased three properties -each costing over a million dollars- that have an effect on our spending abilities".

The Council agreed to continue the discussion at later meetings as they receive reports from County Administrator Pete Rose.