By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
WALDPORT – A once acrimonious back-and-forth between the city of Waldport and Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue district over the future of the main fire station downtown may be soon settled amicably.
The City Council on Thursday approved offering the fire district a 5-year lease on the station in exchange for the district paying $40,000 a year for rent – or doing that much in repair and maintenance on the building. There is also an option for COCF&R to buy the building.
The city owns the building and had been leasing it to the district for $1 a year for the last 20 years. That lease ends June 30 and five years ago the city warned the district that rent would be increasing to a more up-to-date commercial rate July 1.
The fire district has been looking unsuccessfully for land out of Waldport’s tsunami zone where it could build a new station, which could cost an estimated $12 million. It has also considered buying the building, but some board members complained last year that the city’s estimate it was worth $1.1 million was too high so it hired an appraiser and retained a lawyer to suggest a different value and approach.
With the deadline approaching and not having heard anything from the district since last summer, city manager Dann Cutter sent the fire board a letter last week saying that if the two entities could not agree on a lease by April 30 the district would lose use of the building June 30.
That was enough to get the attention of board chair Buster Pankey and Todd Holt, who had been put in charge of negotiating with the city but had not done anything on the issue since getting the appraisal months ago.
Cutter told the council Thursday the three of them met Monday and appeared to agree on an outline of a five-year lease. He called it a “very cordial, pleasant meeting.”
The council agreed to have the city’s attorney draw up an agreement and present it to the fire board as early as its meeting next week.
The lease conditions include:
- $40,000 a year in rent that would be reduced by the cost of any major maintenance the district does on the station;
- An option to buy based on a new appraisal done this week that increases by the yearly cost-of-living index;
- Allowing the fire district to continue subleasing space to Pacific West Ambulance;
- Allowing the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to maintain a sub-station for its two deputies free of charge.
Cutter said he wants the fire district to continue to use the building but “we want them to keep it up.”
“This allows them to not pay rent and allows them to improve a building they have some interest in,” he told the council. “They are very eager to do maintenance on the building. They want to do that.”
Cutter told the council that based on the rental market for commercial space, a 10,000 square foot building could get up to $6,000 a month in rent – or $72,000 a year. He said the city’s $40,000 offer was based on the council previously saying it should offer some kind of a discount but also get needed maintenance done.
“If they don’t, then they pay rent,” he said.
In other business Thursday the council:
- Approved the popular, all-volunteer Green Bike Co-op moving into the former city museum building on Northeast Grant Street, which has been vacant since the museum moved to the Alsea Bay Interpretive Center last year. The co-op’s current location along U.S. Highway 101 has been on the market. The city would charge $1 a year in rent, but the co-op would handle all building maintenance and repairs.
- Approved donations of $1,500 to the Beachcomber Days committee to help with its event in June and $1,500 to the Waldport Chamber of Commerce to help it host the Oregon Coast Gravel Epic bicycle race in April. Beachcomber organizers had requested $2,500 but the council balked at that, urging it and the Waldport Moose Lodge to settle differences over the lodge closing off John Street and offering food, drink and music there during Beachcomber Days.
- Voted 4-2 to declare vacant the council position of Heide Lambert, who resigned last month when she became city manager in Yachats but to not fill it and let anyone interested run for the office in the November general election. Councilors Jayme Morris and Jerry Townsend voted no, wanting to appoint someone and not have the position vacant until January.
