New leases are approved

Updated lease agreements have been approved for the organizations that rent space from the city at Community Resource Center.

Portland Board of Works approved the agreements during its meeting Wednesday.

The lease agreements had been the subject of a dispute since the fall because the updated terms were not the same for all tenants. Tenants met with the board of works last month to discuss the issue, coming to an agreement in principle on new terms.

The updated agreements are one-year contracts at a rate of no less than $350 per month. (The leases will be reviewed annually.) The city will cover maintenance for permanent structures such as heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, the parking lot, etc., while tenants are responsible for utilities and the cost of other shared items such as bathroom and cleaning supplies.

City attorney Wes Schemenaur said he sent the updated contracts to each of the building’s tenants — Jay County Commissioners for community coordinator Nate Kimball, Jay County Chamber of Commerce, Jay County Development Corporation, Jay/Portland Building and Planning and Jay County Visitors and Tourism Bureau — and has not received any feedback or concerns.

Jay County Commissioners approved the contract at their meeting Monday. 

Mary Adair of the visitors and tourism bureau said the organization’s commission president Matt Simmons has signed the contract but her board of directors has not yet addressed it.

Pati McLaughlin of the building and planning department said its inter-local board will meet Tuesday.

Jay County Development Corporation and Jay County Chamber of Commerce did not have representatives at the meeting. (JCDC discussed the update agreement briefly at its meeting June 4, but did not take any action on it.)

Portland Mayor Jeff Westlake asked whether the board should approve all of the contracts Wednesday or wait for feedback/approval from each of the entities in order to avoid the need to revisit the topic in the future. Portland clerk-treasurer Lori Phillips expressed her feeling that the entities have been given ample time to respond.

Board members Jerry Leonhard, Steve McIntosh and Westlake voted unanimously to approve the contracts.

The board also gave Jay/Portland Building and Planning permission to utilize a small meeting room adjacent to its office for storage and granted director John Hemmelgarn permission to change a doorway. He will handle that work.

The board also approved the purchase of a dump truck for the city’s wastewater department from Moser Motors of Berne at a cost of $75,990.37.

Wastewater superintendent Brad Dues had two quotes, with the offer from Fuller Ford of Cincinnati coming in about $1,700 lower than the Moser quote. However, the board decided to go with the Moser quote because of proximity and a difference in expected time of delivery. (The Moser vehicle is expected to be ready in 10 days, compared to a six-month lead time for Fuller.)

The new vehicle will replace a Ford F250 that is about 20 years old.

In other business, the board:

•OK’d the installation of a new pump panel at the city’s lift station at the east end of Walnut Street near Jay County Historical Museum. 4TC of rural Portland will handle the project at a cost of $19,070.

•Approved a CDL training reimbursement agreement for wastewater department employee Tom Leonhard. If he leaves city employment in less than three years, he will need to pay back a portion of the cost of the training.