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Leavenworth County terminates 711 Marshall lease; commissioners authorize possible use of $2.2M payout for road projects
Summary
The Board approved terminating the lease at 711 Marshall Street and accepted a one-time tenant payment; commissioners also authorized a separate, nonbinding motion that part of the $2,200,000 payout may later be used toward paving two gravel roads.
Leavenworth County commissioners approved an agreement to terminate the lease for space at 711 Marshall Street and accepted a one-time payment from the tenant. In follow-up action, the commission approved a motion that a portion of the payment "may" be used to pave two gravel roads later to be determined.
County staff said the tenant for the third floor never completed its project or moved in; staff negotiated an early termination and a one-time payment equal to the negotiated severance. Commissioners discussed options for the funds, including using some money to address long-standing road maintenance needs in the northern part of the county.
Commissioner Jeff, who led the discussion supporting road spending, framed the payment as an opportunity to address a multiyear imbalance in road spending. He said county departments had previously spent building-permit and sales-tax proceeds in other townships and argued that unanticipated funds should help bring northern roads up to parity with the south. "So my proposal is we take some of this money and correct this situation and get some of the roads caught up in the north end of the county," he said.
County staff and other commissioners urged caution. Mark, a county staff member, recommended a cleaner separate motion to accept the lease termination first and to consider road expenditures afterward. He said some funds should remain available to finish the Cushing building work and to attract recurring revenue by leasing the finished space. "I would hate to miss out on that opportunity, by using money that actually came from that facility to go back into that facility," he said, describing efforts to reach potential tenants.
After discussion, the board voted to approve the lease termination agreement and accepted the payment. The board also approved a nonbinding motion that the county "may" spend part of the $2,200,000 payment toward paving two gravel roads later to be determined; commissioners said staff should return with a proposal, objective criteria and cost estimates before final allocations are made.
Commissioners also asked staff for a future work session on roads and sales-tax allocation to examine objective standards such as traffic counts and economic growth to guide spending decisions.
