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Board approves sublease and updates for Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center
Summary
Supervisors approved the Business Resource Center sublease arrangement and received updates on facility operations, costs and staffing; staff said the county remains committed to underwriting facility costs over the original 10‑year master lease.
The Board of Supervisors on March 11 approved the sublease and related actions for the Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center at 269 North Main Street and heard an operational update from Deputy CAO Megan McCammon.
Supervisor questions focused on the county’s long-term financial commitment: McCammon said the county signed the master lease in 2021 that runs to February 1, 2031, and the county’s total commitment over that lease term exceeds $300,000. She said the county underwrote the facility to provide a local warm‑welcome center for small businesses and to reduce the need for residents to travel to Bakersfield for Small Business Development Center (SBDC) services.
McCammon said Sierra Business Council (SBC) is operating local staffing under an MOU and that SBC’s federal SBDC funding model does not cover Inyo County directly; the Bakersfield SBDC provides federal SBDC services for the region. She said SBC used Sierra Jobs First funds to place an executive director in the Eastern Sierra who is co-located at the Business Resource Center to provide local assistance and to connect clients to Bakersfield resources via teleconference equipment.
The board discussed the sublease terms (a nominal $1-per-month sublease for the operator) and the ongoing county facility costs—staff said the county’s lease payments will likely remain in place for the remainder of the 10‑year master lease unless a future agreement reduces the county’s obligation. Supervisors asked staff to bring the SBC executive director in for a future update with utilization numbers; McCammon said early anecdotal use was promising but she had no finalized metrics at the meeting.
A motion to approve the consent‑agenda item for the sublease carried by voice vote; the transcript records the board’s approval but not a roll‑call tally.
