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Commissioners review county-owned property leases, from $1-a-year tenants to cell-tower rentals
Summary
Staff presented a county-owned property inventory covering nominal $1-a-year building leases, market and negotiated rents, ground leases and collocated cell-tower sites. Commissioners asked staff to add which tenants handle maintenance, clarify lease terms and provide follow-up information on select properties.
County facilities staff walked the Board of Commissioners through a multi-page inventory of Josephine County real property that the county leases to community organizations, state agencies and telecommunications providers.
The report categorized properties as dollar-a-year building leases, monthly-market leases and ground/cell-tower leases. Staff said the dollar-a-year list included entities such as the county library, the YMCA, Options for Southern Oregon and a local community association; in most of those cases the tenant covers interior maintenance and utilities while the county retains limited exterior responsibilities depending on the lease.
Cell towers and ground leases: staff described a major cell-tower site at the fairgrounds that hosts multiple colocated operators (U.S. Cellular, Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish), noting each tenant rents ground space for equipment. The county also has multiple tower ground leases on properties managed within the county forestry portfolio; airport hangar leases were specifically excluded from the inventory presented.
Specific property notes: staff discussed a range of leases including warehouse and office tenants (Southern Oregon Aspire, CASA, Oregon Water Resources), the civil air patrol meeting space (month-to-month), the old Cave Junction pool property with recurring vandalism and a sports complex leased to a Dutch Bros.-affiliated nonprofit that pays a multi‑thousand-dollar monthly rent. For several properties — including the YMCA and senior center — commissioners asked staff to confirm maintenance responsibilities and lease terms; staff agreed to add notes indicating whether leases were triple net, modified gross or otherwise.
Why it matters: commissioners said they want clearer documentation on lease terms, tenant maintenance obligations and notable long-term arrangements (for example, a 99-year ground lease was cited for one senior center site). Staff committed to amending the inventory to show who is responsible for landscaping, HVAC, structural repairs and any tax-exempt status noted in the file.
Ending: Commissioners thanked staff for compiling the inventory and asked for a revised packet that adds lease types (triple net/gross), specific monthly rates where negotiated and any outstanding renewal dates for upcoming planning.
