Future of the Josephine County Bldg. considered
From our weekly issue dated February 4, 2009
In front of the Josephine County Bldg. in Downtown Cave Junction. (Photo by Scott Jorgensen, IVN )
What’s up with the Josephine County Bldg.in Downtown Cave Junction was discussed by the county commissioners in the facility on Monday evening, Jan. 26.
Commissioners discussed a number of matters with Mayor Don Moore, including the building’s future.
Moore said that the building is a great meeting area for Illinois Valley residents, but that a lack of parking remains an issue.
Commissioner Dave Toler said that Sheriff Gil Gilbertson plans to fully relocate his department’s substation from the county building to the basement of Cave Junction City Hall at the beginning of the next fiscal year on July 1. Gilbertson has said that the move will save his department some money, but is mostly doing so for operational reasons.
The basement facility once served as the base for the former Cave Junction Police Dept., and has holding cells.
According to documents provided by Josephine County Property Manager Phil Killian, the sheriff’s office pays approximately $11,272 per year for use of the county building. The county’s public health department pays $3,094 and the community corrections department $6,512 per year.
Expenses for building and maintenance and custodial services total $9,600 per year, and utilities cost $14,000 annually, for a total of $23,600. As such, the total cost to the county is $2,722 per year.
Without the rent paid by the sheriff’s office, total revenue for the building would be reduced to $9,606. That means that the county will have to make up approximately $13,994 per year.
Toler said that the Senior Nutrition meals program will start paying for its use of the building, which will help recover some of the revenue lost from the sheriff’s substation departure. Also, he said, Friends of the Illinois Valley County Building (FIVCB) plan to soon present a proposal to the county board.
Sue Lily, a member of the Friends group, was out of town and unavailable to comment. However, in a Jan. 31 e-mail, Lily said her initial goal was to “improve the facility so it would be more versatile.”
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No formal meetings have been scheduled for the FIVCB group, Lily wrote, but she has set up a website dedicated towards the building, at http://web.mac.com/slily/Friends_of_the_IV_ County_Building/Welcome.html.
Moore said that it would be a “tragedy” to lose the county building as a meeting area. He added that it could also serve as an emergency facility. Commission Chairman Dwight Ellis observed that in such an event, cots could be placed inside the building to accommodate disaster victims.
Toler described the facility as an important resource for the Illinois Valley community, and said that citizens and groups can use it. He added that the county has taken care of the building as an asset, and Ellis agreed that it’s in pretty good shape, as it has a new roof.
Toler said that the building would need only two more tenants to make up the difference in rent revenue once the sheriff’s substation relocates. He said rent for the building is “very affordable” at around 70-cents per square foot, including utilities.
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