By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Compromise was the order of the day at Juab County
Commission meeting as commissioners determined to put the
old county hospital up for bid.
Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission chair, wanted to detach
the hospital clinic, from the property before the bids were
advertised so that the Mountainland Headstart preschool
would never be ousted from the facility as long as the
program continued.
Commissioners Robert Steele and Neil Cook think
leaving the property attached with an iron-clad lease in
place might make the property more attractive to a potential
buyer.
The compromise? Allow bids to be entered for both
options and allow themselves, as commissioners, the
opportunity to select the most attractive of the bids or
reject all bids.
"Why not do the bidding process in such a way that
bids could be offered both ways," said Jared Eldridge,
county attorney.
"The safest thing to do would be for the county to
keep that portion of the property (where Headstart is
located)," said Eldridge.
Nevertheless, he said, the county could write a new
lease agreement and record it at the recorder's office.
Anyone doing a title search would see the deed and the
attachment and would know the property was encumbered.
Currently, he said, the lease agreement is for 10
years with a renewable lease opportunity available each year
after that.
"We could create an iron-clad lease agreement," said
Steele. "The bidder needs to know that we will protect the
lease for as long as Headstart wants to be in the
building."
He suggested the commission make the lease extremely
long term- 100 years--and that they leave in a clause that
would allow Headstart to leave the facility and the
agreement with 60 days notice.
"The Headstart portion of the property is already,
essentially, carved off," said Eldridge.
The heating system, wiring, plumbing, sewer and all
utilities are separate from the old hospital.
"You gave me this assignment last January," said Cook.
"Until now, I have come up against a brick wall."
Cook said he was of the opinion that the county would
be more likely to get more from the property if the two
sections were sold as one. He thought it would be more
attractive to a potential owner to have a tenant in place
from the beginning.
"It would be advantageous to a buyer to have the
benefit of a tax write-off as a donation to Headstart," said
Steele.
If the property's rental value were considered, and
that amount could be depreciated over a number of years, the
owner could use that as a tax write-off.
Eldridge said he was not certain the write-off would
be enough to make the option attractive.
"I am working on guardianship," said Howarth. "I am of
the opinion that if the building were separated from the
rest of the property, if Headstart ever wanted to break the
lease agreement, then the county could sell the
property."
All did agree, in the final analysis, to have a new
bid document drafted for acceptance at the next commission
meeting, the second Monday of November, and did agree that
the bids could be advertised after that date.
All agreed that the bids will be allowed in either of
two ways&emdash;with or without the Headstart facility
attached to the former hospital property.
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