Commission authorizes chairman and auditor to sign lease with abstract office, with clause on interior walls

Ramsey County commissioners authorized the chairman and the county auditor to sign a lease agreement with a local abstract office after staff reported the tenant’s requests and negotiations.

Staff said the abstract office raised two items: (1) a request to remove several interior, non-load-bearing partition walls that had been built for privacy and (2) a request to push back the October 1 occupancy date to November 1 because the tenant said they received the lease offer late. Staff said the tenant had access to the space, had measured, and had been on notice since May about the planned change.

Commission discussion and decision: County staff recommended signing the lease and retaining the October 1 effective date; commissioners agreed to authorize signature of the lease with the added condition that the specific interior walls to be removed be listed as a contractual amendment and the county would remove the walls per the tenant’s request. The motion to authorize chairman Gessner and the auditor to sign the lease with that amendment carried by voice vote.

Why it matters: The vote finalizes occupancy terms for county property and assigns responsibility for the identified interior work; it sets a firm timeline for the tenant’s occupancy and clarifies who will do the wall removal before tenant entry.

Next steps: Staff will finalize and circulate the signed lease with the amendment identifying which interior partitions will be removed prior to occupancy.