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Colfax County delays lease renewals, proposes tenants pay insurance and maintenance
Summary
The Colfax County Commission postponed action on several nonprofit lease renewals after commissioners discussed requiring lessees to cover insurance, snow removal and routine maintenance; staff provided annual insurance estimates for several county-owned buildings.
Colfax County commissioners postponed approval of multiple facility lease renewals and directed staff to rewrite proposed contracts after a months-long review of county-owned properties and ongoing subsidy of tenant costs.
The commission said it wants new leases to require lessees to pay the cost of building insurance, routine yard and snow maintenance, and to assume more minor repairs. Commissioners also asked staff to notify tenants of the proposed changes before returning the revised agreements for approval. The commission’s motion to postpone action on items 23, 25 and 26 passed by roll call vote.
The county’s finance director provided a line-by-line estimate of this year’s insurance cost for several buildings currently leased at below-market or in-kind rent: the developmentally disabled building about $4,550 annually; the Soy Building about $1,946; the district attorney’s office about $1,843; the health department building about $2,000; and Youth Heartline about $1,235. Commissioners said tenants should know those projected costs before signing new leases.
County staff and the county attorney also discussed options for reducing the county’s long-term maintenance burden, including selling some properties back to service providers where legally permitted and clarifying whether federal grant covenants would require funds to be returned on sale. Commissioners noted some buildings were originally donated or constructed under federal grants and might carry grant reversion conditions or right-of-first-refusal clauses held by the City of Raton.
Daniel, the county attorney, told the commission staff would prepare amended leases and work to compile the insurance figures so potential lessees can assess the new costs. Commissioners said changes would not be retroactive to prior years; any billing for insurance would begin with the new contract cycle after approval.
The commission did not adopt the rewritten leases at the meeting; members voted to postpone final action and bring the items back with updated language and tenant notices at the next meeting.
