Resolution 520-1993
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Commissioner Earl Cheal
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WHEREAS, the new Regional Government Center in Marathon
RESOLUTION NO. 520 -1993
consists of a State of Florida office building and a Monroe
County office building; and
WHEREAS, the Monroe County office building is fully occupied
and the State office building has 4,440 square feet of unoccupied
finished office space with no apparent plans for occupancy; and
WHEREAS, Monroe County has an unfunded mandate to provide
space for the fOllowing State of, Florida agencies:
Public
Defender, State Attorney and Health and Rehabilitative Services
(HRS). Monroe County currently provides space for: the Public
Defender's Marathon
Office
in the
County-owned
Marathon
Government_ Center Annex (2,200 square feet), the State Attorney's
Marathon office is provided space in rental facilities (1,435
square feet) dnd in
coordination with the State,
rental
facilities are provided for the Marathon HRS office; and
WHEREAS, Monroe County has a deficit of adequate office
space owned by the County in the Marathon area and therefore
houses some offices in a trailer; and
WHEREAS, the space rented by Monroe County for the State
Attorney's Marathon office costs the taxpayers $13.80 per square
foot for a total of $19,800 per year and the lease is due to
expire on January 31, 1994; and
WHEREAS, the space rented by Monroe County and HRS for the
HRS Marathon office costs the taxpayers $28,800 per year; and
WHEREAS, when the Department of General Services was
approached to ut,ilize the vacant space in the State office
building to house State offices, the response indicated the space
could be rented to the County for $14.38 per square foot per
year; and
WHEREAS, the rate quo'ted by t:he Department of General
Services fails to take into account t,hat, the rate exceeds the
going rate in the community and fails to give any recognition
that the County sought to rent the property to house State
agencies; and
WHEREAS, to allow a government facility to be underutilized
while forcing the County to rent another facility is akin to
double taxation; and
WHEREAS, the public and the Board of County Commissioners
can see no jus'tification to allow State office space to remain
vacant while expending taxpayer dollars to provide space for
State agencies at other locations, now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that Governor Chiles is hereby requested
to require his administration to apply conunon sense and logical
business analysis and make the following determination:
1. The public loses confidence in governments that cannot
coordinate to gain efficiencies and reduce costs for the overall
good of their constituents.
2
2. It: i.s in the best interests of the taxpayers of the
State of Florida to have all State Agencies servi.ng the Middle
Keys area to be co-located in the new State Office building in
the Marathon Regional Center; and
3. It is in the best interests of the taxpayers of the
State of Florida and particularly the taxpayers of Monroe County
to reduce expenditure of taxes, by housing State Agencies in
State-owned facilities at no additional cost to the County if
space is available in a State building.
Governor Chiles is furthermore requested to order the occupation
of the vacant office space in the State Office building in the
Marathon Regional Center by St.ate Agencies that Monroe County is
providing space for. A response is respectfully requested by
December 22, 1993, to avoid further waste of taxpayer funds.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Monroe County, Florida, at a regular meeting of said Board held
on the 30th day of November, 1993.
Mayor Jack London
yes
Mayor Pro Tern Earl Cheal
yes
Commissioner Wilhelmina Harvey
absent
Commissioner Shirley Freeman
yes
Commissioner Mary Kay Reich
yes
(SEAL)
:~--
ATTEl1: DANNY L. KOLHAGE, CLERK
BY.JJa..J-d. c. ~Y"~
Deputy Cler
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