JCDC to continue work on lease

Jay County Development Corporation will continue to work toward a lease agreement with the City of Portland.

During a special meeting Tuesday, the Jay County Development Corporation (JCDC) board of directors agreed to have board member Josh Atkinson work through the proposed lease agreement with city attorney Wes Schemenaur.

The lease agreement for office space in Community Resource Center has been under discussion since late 2023 when Portland Board of Works approved new leases in conjunction with Jay County Commissioners renting an office for use by community coordinator Nate Kimball. The lease for the county was different from the leases for the other tenants, resulting in an issue with utility payments. (JCDC for years had received utility bills for the entire building and subsequently been reimbursed by other tenants for their share, but utilities were not included in the county’s lease at that time.)

The board of works met with the building’s five tenants May 15 to discuss the contracts, including the handling of utilities. Schemenaur put together a new lease agreement following that meeting.

The lease agreements were on the agenda for the June 13 board of works meeting. At that time, Portland Mayor Jeff Westlake asked if the board should approve the agreements or wait for feedback/approval from each of the entities in order to avoid the need to revisit the topic in the future.

(Only county commissioners and the visitors and tourism bureau had signed.) The board of works then approved the lease agreements after Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips expressed her feeling that the tenants have been given ample time to respond.

Jay/Portland Building and Planning has since signed the agreement. JCDC and Jay County Chamber of Commerce have not.

The JCDC board on Tuesday discussed concerns regarding the lease agreement as proposed, with two — handling of utility bills and a lack of clarity about maintenance issues — rising to the forefront. Board members agreed that they feel JCDC should not be responsible for billing their fellow tenants for utilities. They also questioned language regarding repairs and maintenance, noting that one section of the lease agreement indicates the city is responsible for “repairs of the HVAC system” while another indicates “furnace & A/C repairs” are the responsibility of the tenants.

Board members had a wide-ranging discussion of their options moving forward, from meeting again with fellow tenants and the board of works to dropping utilities and beginning to look for different office space to lease.

“I’d hate to see that,” said JCDC board member Bryan Alexander. “The spirit of this building … was that we have one stop … that was the whole idea. I’d just hate to see that go.”

“I too believe in everybody being together,” agreed board member Barb Street. “So much happens, or should happen, in day-to-day communication, being together …”

The board ultimately asked Atkinson, who is an attorney, to communicate JCDC’s concerns about the contract with Schemenaur in order to try to reach an agreement.

Also at the meeting, board members provided the following updates:

•A proposed internet project in partnership with Mainstream Fiber Networks is on hold after the company did not receive grant funding, said Jay County Commissioner Rex Journay. The county had committed $3.9 million toward a project to install 395 miles of fiberoptic or fixed wireless internet across the county. (He also noted that the county is discussing upgrading radios for first responders, likely using coronavirus relief funds through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.)

•Former JCDC board member Bob Lyons will be honored during the Cincinnatus League’s Hall of Fame ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Farmer’s Building during the Jay County Fair.

•The Jay County 4-H auction is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, July 12, in the Show Arena at Jay County Fairgrounds.

•Redkey Fourth of July festivities are this weekend, with fireworks at dusk Saturday at Redkey Morgan Park.