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Commissioners debate utilities, rent arrangement for coroner's office at fairgrounds building
Summary
Commission discussion focused on whether the coroner's office should pay utilities while occupying space at the fairgrounds used by Search and Rescue, and on who should bear costs given donated-fund support for the fairgrounds; commissioners asked staff and stakeholders to return with options in two weeks.
Commissioners discussed whether the coroner's office should be charged utilities or rent while occupying space in a fairgrounds building used and operated by the county Search and Rescue organization, and whether the arrangement should change to avoid drawing on donated funds that sustain the fairgrounds.
A speaker who identified themselves as representing the coroner's office opened the discussion: "Mainly here to discuss the Walnut Rent situation," (Speaker 6). Commissioners and representatives of the Search and Rescue/fairgrounds organization described the existing arrangement in which donated funds support the fairgrounds’ utilities and Search and Rescue uses the space; they said a coroner presence in that space had been handled informally and recorded in county budget line items as rent or utilities in different ways.
A fairgrounds/Search and Rescue representative (Speaker 2) emphasized the group's reliance on donations and urged the commission to consider the effect of charging utilities on donated funds: "We operate totally on donated funds. So that monthly utilities just chinks us away at some point…without us having to use our donated funds to pay our utilities," Speaker 2 said.
Commissioners discussed several practical options raised in the meeting transcript: the coroner could relocate to a sheriff's department office area, the county could continue to pay utilities for the building, or the county could formalize a rent/utilities arrangement and seek approval from Search and Rescue’s executive board. One commissioner said moving the coroner’s records to a secure county building may be required if pending state legislation passes requiring coroners’ records to be maintained in secure county facilities.
Participants noted specific figures discussed in the meeting: the fairgrounds representative said utilities across the year are "close to $4,000," and that recent building improvements totaled approximately $32,000 (materials/parts), though the transcript did not present a formal accounting. The record also shows commissioners asked staff to consult with the Search and Rescue executive board and to return to the commission in two weeks with options. "Can you give us a couple weeks to sit on it and think about options?" (Speaker 5) a commissioner asked; the group agreed to revisit the matter at the next meeting.
No formal action or binding vote was taken; the commission requested follow-up to clarify whether Search and Rescue’s executive board consents to continued coroner use of the space, to quantify utilities and donated-fund impacts, and to prepare alternative location/options if formal rent or relocation is needed.
