City attorney recommends reviewing Boys & Girls Club lease and clarifying capital-improvement expectations; suggests renegotiation

City of Perry's attorney on Jan. 28 told the council the most recent written agreement with the Boys & Girls Club does not include explicit language obligating the city to pay for capital improvements and recommended the council consider renegotiation or adding clarifying contract language.

The attorney said the earlier agreement from the 1990s included language referencing capital improvements that the 2017 agreement lacks. "There was a clear change," the attorney said, noting the prior contract mentioned capital improvements although it did not obligate the city to hold funds in escrow. The attorney told the council she had begun preliminary inquiries and planned to consult the prior city attorney, Ray Curtis, and other records to determine historical intent.

Council members discussed whether there had been an informal expectation that the city would pay for certain improvements because of the long-standing relationship with the Boys & Girls Club. The attorney recommended clarifying the arrangement in writing: either add contract language making expectations explicit or renegotiate the lease to remove ambiguity. She noted tax and nonprofit considerations can change how such arrangements are structured and suggested the city should not assume an open-ended obligation without a written agreement.

Staff indicated there was no written obligation to fund capital improvements in the current contract and that rent and expenditures should be documented. The attorney said she will provide a memo and recommended that council consider placing renegotiation of the facility agreement on a future agenda.

Ending: The city attorney will research historical agreements and return with a memo recommending specific contract language or negotiation steps; council may consider a renegotiated agreement at a future meeting.