The Loxahatchee Groves Town Council continued its discussion this week with the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce regarding the chamber’s building at the corner of Southern Blvd. and F Road.
The chamber has offered to sell the building to the town, and the council agreed Tuesday to consider a lease on the building with an option to buy.
Last month, Chamber CEO Wayne Burns proposed that the town purchase the building, which he said the chamber no longer needs due to downsizing and a change in focus.
Town Manager Mark Kutney said the chamber has offered three options: either buy it outright, lease it with an option to buy, or a straight lease.
Kutney said there were other issues to work through, including that Palm Beach County actually owns the land where the building sits, and the chamber has a 30-year lease at $1 a year.
The town’s legal staff had also recommended a 90-day period of due diligence, which would include an appraisal, survey and inspection of the property.
“Right now we are acting on an appraisal that the chamber has acquired,” Kutney said.
He also pointed out that the council could pursue a lease-to-buy option for as long as 36 months and during that time, the town could conduct a charter-required referendum on whether to buy the building.
Kutney said he would like to have some form of agreement ready for approval as soon as possible.
“We think it’s in the best interest of both parties, if we are going to move forward, to try to have this wrapped up before the November elections,” Kutney said.
Councilman Tom Goltzené said he was concerned about the town staff’s desire to get out of its current office at Palms West Plaza, where concerns have been raised about security.
“Certainly, there are activities that go on at the plaza that maybe are not conducive to people feeling that they are welcome in that area,” Goltzené said. “In a way, to me, it runs contrary to what the whole idea of the town was. The idea was to stay small in nature, low service, low tax, basically to enhance the freedom of the people to do what they want to do. To purchase this building would be a significant amount of money. I’m not sure that everyone in town would see that it is really benefiting them.”
Goltzené added that he would never support buying property that sits on someone else’s land, and suggested that a long-term lease might be most desirable for the town, although that is the chamber’s least desirable option.
Mayor Dave Browning stressed that the discussion remains preliminary. “They made an offer, and we’re just thinking about it,” he said.
Browning asked why a decision is necessary before the November election, and Town Attorney Mike Cirullo said that is important because anything done on that property would require the consent of the Palm Beach County Commission.
Goltzené said he did not see the urgency for getting the agreement to the county commission.
“There’s seven votes and only one is going to change,” he said. “There’s nothing that says that the new person isn’t going to be as acceptable to this.”
While Councilman Jim Rockett favored pursuing a lease-to-buy option, Browning said that he had different thoughts for a permanent town home and would prefer to build something on the Loxahatchee Groves Water Control District’s property.
After discussions with Kutney, he decided that a simple 4,000-square-foot structure would cost about $300,000, split between the LGWCD and the town. The chamber’s appraisal for its building is about $630,000.
“We already have the land. It’s a beautiful facility down there. I just don’t know how we can do it practically,” Browning said of the chamber’s proposal.
He pointed out that a mortgage on $300,000 would be about $2,000 a month, which is what the town pays for rent currently.
Rockett pointed out that a lease with an option to buy does not mean that they have to buy. He also noted that if they lease the building, they could sublease a portion, possibly to the chamber, and reduce the cost.
Vice Mayor Ron Jarriel also favored a lease with an option to buy. “I see a lot of potential for that building,” he said.
Jarriel added that he was embarrassed that people have to walk through the mud in the parking lot when it is raining, and possibly have to stand outside if it is a big meeting. He also pointed out that Burns has shown interest in renting a portion of the building back, and that the town’s committees, some of which already meet at the chamber building, would have ready access.
He asked Burns, who was at the meeting, if they had established a lease price, and he said they had not, but added that it would be difficult to come in with a price comparable to what the town pays now, considering theirs is a 5-year-old, 5,000-square-foot building with paved parking.
Jarriel made a motion to continue discussions with the chamber and find out everything they need to know about a lease with an option to buy. The motion carried 4-1 with Goltzené opposed.
Town council does not need this nice, new expensive building to have their meetings. Let this “deal” go and operate within the essence of why this town was created in the first place.