While saying he remains interested in the county’s office space proposals, Mayor Tom Henry on Monday outlined why a move to Renaissance Square would benefit both city and county governments.
Less than 24 hours before he will meet with the Allen County commissioners, Henry provided detailed financial data regarding the city’s proposal to buy the building at 200 E. Berry St.
Henry proposed paying $7.3 million for the 220,000-square-foot building and spending an additional $7.2 million to renovate it.
In all, the city would spend about $17 million more over 20 years to purchase, operate and renovate the building than it would without making any changes. But the poor condition of the police station on Creighton Avenue makes staying put impossible, Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell said.
“Doing nothing here is not acceptable at this point,” he said.
While the city will save more than $9 million in property tax dollars over the 20 years, according to Controller Pat Roller, it will also spend an additional $26 million in economic-development income tax money.
The city had planned to spend about $1 million in income tax annually for a new police station. Roller added that after 20 years, the city would own the building. The city currently leases space for $1.2 million annually at the City-County Building and the police building for $200,000.
The mayor’s public presentation Monday caught the county by surprise, Commissioner Bill Brown said.
The commissioners were expecting a first look at the city’s financing details, along with information on which city departments would move, during a joint meeting scheduled for today.
Even though Henry has outlined those details, Brown expects the mayor to repeat the information during today’s meeting.
County officials have prepared a counterproposal that would keep most city offices in the City-County Building. Brown said the commissioners will provide “compelling reasons” to use their plan instead.
Henry said he was not trying to undercut the commissioners by releasing the information Monday. He was only trying to help ensure there is a factual discussion of space needs. There were numerous rumors about the building’s costs, Henry said, so it was important to provide a look at the true data.
The mayor did say he thought the city leaving the City-County Building would create opportunities for the county to save money by consolidating some of its functions into one building. Sheriff Ken Fries said previously he would be willing to relocate in the City-County Building, but has no interest in joining the Fort Wayne Police Department at Renaissance Square.
The county has set aside $2.5 million to build a new headquarters for the sheriff on East Paulding Road.
Henry said he looked forward to meeting with the commissioners today, but added there are time constraints to making a decision. He said he would like a decision to be made before the city moves forward with its 2010 budget, which typically happens in September.
Roller said that if the city doesn’t buy the building by the end of October, it would have to put additional money in escrow for it and only has until the end of the year to lock in the agreement.
Amanda Iacone of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.
