The San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) Board of Directors discussed options for relocating the district’s offices at its Oct. 20 meeting.
As discussed at previous meetings, the lease for the district’s current location at 46 Eaton Drive is ending due to the owner of the building wanting to expand their business and utilize the space the district is currently occupying.
SJWCD treasurer Joe Tedder and Administrative Assistant Sally High led the search for new locations and delivered a report to the board on what they found.
Tedder explained that he and High visited two locations, including one location on U.S. 160 one block east of Our Savior Lutheran Church and one office located on Cornerstone Drive in Aspen Village.
He stated that the U.S. 160 location has residences on the upper floor and two office spaces available on the lower floor in addition to a common area with a small bathroom.
Tedder explained that each of these office spaces was about 180 square feet and that he and High thought that one could serve as the district’s office while the other would act as a meeting room.
He explained that the district would be competing with another potential tenant for one of these office spaces, although this tenant also wanted to use this space as a meeting room and would be willing to let the SJWCD use it for free.
Tedder stated that the single office would cost $450 per month to rent while both would cost $900.
He then summarized the Aspen Village location, which he indicated would be on the second floor of the Cornerstone Drive complex.
He indicated that this upstairs area is “very nice” and contains several offices and a “very, very nice board room.”
Tedder explained that the district would rent one of the office spaces and could then rent the board room for $30 an hour.
He explained that he was unsure how large the office space is, but that it would also include two desks and access to Wi-Fi, printers and scanners.
High stated that renting this office would cost $708 per month, including the costs of Wi-Fi and renting the board room for one meeting a month.
SJWCD board member Charles Riehm commented that he thought this space would be ideal for the district.
Following a brief discussion of the logistics of holding executive sessions in this space, SJWCD president Candace Jones raised the issue of if this space would comply with Colorado public meeting access requirements since it is upstairs and the building does not have an elevator.
Jones commented that the board needed to investigate this issue further, but could make a motion to choose an office space subject to confirming that the space would not violate access laws.
She added that, if the Aspen Village space could not be used, she would want the board’s opinion on if it should pursue the other office space or look for another location.
Tedder commented that SJWCD board member Bill Nobles had mentioned another option to him that day which he would want to look into before making a final decision.
High highlighted that this option of renting an office within First Southwest Bank would be unsuitable due to issues with the building being closed outside of banking hours.
The board then unanimously voted to move forward with finalizing a lease for the Aspen Village location subject to confirming that the space would meet access requirements.
The board closed the conversation about the relocation with a brief discussion of the logistics of moving the district’s possessions to a new location.
josh@pagosasun.com
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