Commission directs staff to keep negotiating a lease‑to‑purchase for new Clerk Records Center

Carolyn Eastwood, director of Capital Projects, briefed the Board on the Clerk Records Center replacement project included in the surtax CIP with an $18 million allocation. The county solicited proposals for a site within one mile of the clerk’s main office and received two submissions; staff discounted one for incomplete material and evaluated the Swift Family Limited Partnership proposal (two parcels totalling ~1.16 acres inside the city of Sarasota) as meeting size, zoning and building requirements.

Swift proposed a new 26,295‑square‑foot building, delivered as a 30‑year triple‑net lease with an option for purchase after the first year; the first‑year buyout was presented at roughly $15.4 million with a subsequent escalator (3% or CPI, whichever is higher). Eastwood reminded the board that surtax funds cannot pay lease obligations or taxes and noted the county could surplus the existing facility to offset general fund costs. Commissioners confirmed the clerk’s involvement in the design and indicated support for moving forward with the negotiated long‑term lease and purchase option.

The Board voted unanimously to direct staff to continue negotiations with Swift Family Limited Partnership on a long‑term lease with purchase option; commissioners said they expected the clerk to be intimately involved in design and functional requirements.