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Commissioners table decisions for proposed admin building location

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Following an executive session, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted at its Aug. 6 meeting to table decisions on a letter of intent and a purchase and sale agreement with ArenaLabs LLC for the purchase of property for a county administration building.

The BoCC voted to move forward with drafting a letter of intent to purchase the property, an approximately five-acre portion of a larger planned development adjacent to U.S. 160 and South Pagosa Boulevard, at its June 5 meeting.

The purchase and sale agreement considered at the meeting indicates that the county would have purchased the property for a total of $2,178,000 at $10 per square foot, although the agreement indicates that this price could change if the size of the parcel being purchased changes.

At the meeting, the BoCC heard several public comments opposing the purchasing, with commenters stating that the overall 100-acre parcel on which the building would be located was purchased for about $6 million and that the asking price for the smaller parcel is exorbitantly high.

Commenters also objected to a perceived lack of transparency in the purchasing process and expressed that the county could likely find less expensive property for its administration building elsewhere.

Following the executive session, County Attorney Todd Weaver explained that the letter of intent before the commissioners would be nonbinding and that, after the county went under contract to purchase the property, there would be a 120-day due diligence period where the county could investigate if the property would suit the county’s needs.

He stated that, if the county found the property was not suitable, it could cancel the contract and receive its deposit for the property back.

The letter of intent is a “pretty typical first step in a commercial property transaction,” Weaver indicated, adding that the agreement did not address the construction of an administration building or roads in the area, which would be handled by separate agreements.

Weaver also replied to a prior public comment concerning broker commission for the sale, indicating that the county would not pay any commission for the property and that it has not paid commission for any property during his six-year tenure as county attorney.

He added that both documents before the BoCC indicate that the county would not pay any commission.

He also emphasized that the letter of intent and the purchase and sale agreement are not binding and that the county would not be purchasing any land at the meeting.

Commissioner Ronnie Maez moved to table a decision on the letter of intent until the BoCC’s Sept. 3 meeting.

Commissioner Warren Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Discussion then moved on to the purchase and sale agreement, which Weaver explained incorporates the language of the letter of intent in a purchase and sale agreement.

He added that it would “make sense” to table the purchase and sale agreement due to the letter of intent already having been tabled.

Brown moved to table a decision on the purchase and sale agreement, which Maez seconded.

The motion also passed unanimously.

Commissioner Veronica Medina and Maez did not reply to requests for further information on what steps, if any, the county intends to take concerning the property prior to considering the issue again at its Sept. 3 meeting by press time Wednesday.

josh@pagosasun.com