After nearly four months of negotiations, a deal may soon be struck to use Clarksville Elementary School as a substation for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.
Undersheriff William Cox has been overseeing the negotiations for the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Craig Apple said he was told “minor modifications” to the lease agreement are being made between attorneys, but the contract is “close to a done deal.”
“We both are very eager to move this along,” said Apple.
Bethlehem Central School District Superintendent Tom Douglas also agreed that the deal was close to being finalized.
An initial proposal agreement unveiled at a Dec. 21 meeting of the Board of Education said the district would collect $210,000 from the county over the life of a five-year agreement. The payments would increase by $6,000 each year, starting at $30,000 for the first year of use, or $2,500 per month. It is not known if those terms will end up in the final agreement.
The Clarksville Elementary building has been closed since the summer of 2011 after the district shuttered the school due to declining enrollment and budgetary needs. The district would save about $23,800 in utility costs from renting the building, since those would eventually be the responsibility of the county.
BC Operations and Maintenance Director Gregg Nolte said teachers and staff who worked in the building were relocated over the summer. Left over equipment and furniture was moved over the winter into three classrooms and five small storage areas, since the sheriff’s office would not be using the entire building.
“The facility fits really well into the programs and office space they want to have,” said Nolte. “Any changes they do, we will be involved in. And they understand it is our intent to possibly open (the school) up again someday.”
Apple said the Albany County Sheriff’s Office recently received a grant through the Department of Homeland Security for several upgrades to the building. The money will be used to install a fence, several cameras and an additional generator so the substation can stay in operation in emergency situations.
“Residents shouldn’t worry though,” Apple said. “We won’t transfer it into some huge police looking building. A lot of the work people won’t even notice.”
Apple said his hope is to move into the facility by June, with the possibility of paying the district some extra rent to be able to install the new security system and do infrastructure work in May.
Since the building would also house the New Scotland Justice Court, Apple said the town also hopes the deal is finalized soon.
“I’m extremely optimistic,” he said.
90 Adams still on market
The district has also closed its administrative building at 90 Adams Street in Delmar and put it up on the market.
Nolte said by “mothballing” the building — a term for turning off the facility’s power and reducing the heat — about $22,800 will be saved from his operating budget next school year. The district will continue to do upkeep on the building, as well as security and fire monitoring until the building is sold.
Only the offices for the superintendent and assistant superintendent currently remain in the building. All of the business staff were moved in December into an underused area overlooking the high school library.
Nolte said renovations began over the summer in the high school to convert the space into six offices and a meeting room. Construction has since started on the offices for the two superintendents, who will now be located in the high school’s B Wing. The hope is to move them into their new space over the summer.
“The new space is a good fit for them,” said Nolte, adding that between the new superintendent’s offices and the new offices above the library, the space is nearly the same as that of 90 Adams at 6,800 square feet.
Chief Business and Financial Officer Judith Kehoe said the former administration building is listed at $650,000. If it is sold, Nolte said another $8,500 would be saved annually from his budget.
If the building is sold before or within the 2012-13 school year, it would be up to the board to decide how the funds will be used.
“We could use it to reduce the amount of planned usage from the fund balance within the ’12 – ’13 budget of $1.75 million —the savings account we tap into — or opt to put it into tax reduction reserves for next year, or some combo of the two,” said Kehoe.
Douglas said there is no current plan with what to do with the money if the 90 Adams building is sold or if a deal is reached to lease Clarksville Elementary. Money from neither transaction was counted for in the budget.
“Either way, that money will go back to help this budget or future budgets,” said Douglas. How remains to be determined by the board.”
