The Barry County Commissioner’s agenda item under unfinished business Tuesday read: “Approval to proceed with the attached addition and renovation project for the Barry County Transit building as proposed by Landmark Design.”

 

A note on the agenda read: “This request was recommended for approval at the 5/18/18 Committee of the Whole meeting. It was postponed to the 6/12/18 Board of Commissioner’s meeting and postponed again awaiting completion of a property appraisal. It was postponed again on 8/28/18.”

 

The main concern was putting $1 to $1.3 million from the transit’s general fund for renovations and repairs before they know what will be done with the jail and transit property.

Counterpoint to that was that the county facilities study in 2015 called for a new jail and commissioners have started the planning, delayed long enough and need to go forward.

 

Tuesday, after 90 minutes of exhaustive discussion by the commissioners, Transit Director Bill Voigt, Hastings city officials, some in the audience and in public comment, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the request with a change modifying a proposed parking lot to gravel.

 

With the vote, Voigt will start the bidding process on the renovations and repairs.

 

“What came out of our discussion is a gentleman's agreement to work together, not independently. Over the next couple months, Transit leaders will move ahead with getting proposals for the proposed construction project. However, if the jail facilitator helps us find a better idea, the county board can still adjust course before construction starts,” Commissioner and Chair Ben Geiger said later.

 

At the meeting, Hastings officials and J-Ad Graphics President Fred Jacobs pressed commissioners to delay a decision until they could get more information on the possibilities for development of the approximately 11 acres which now hold the jail and transit, which Jacobs said was the most valuable  piece of real estate in the city. “More cars pass by there than anywhere in Barry County.”

 

The assessor’s figures that the market value of the Barry County Transit on 1.9 acres was $700,000 and the nine acres the Barry County Jail sits on is worth $1,150,000, “were far off,” Jacobs said. He advised the commission to get a real estate agent to put a price on the property. “You would be foolish to waste money before you have more information.”  He urged the commission to look at everything, be visionary and, “be a little more patient.”

 

Other speakers favored waiting for a facilitator’s input, get more facts, wait until they find out where the new jail would go, and “make a study to make sure we get our money’s worth,” before spending any money.

 

Geiger said they will hire a facilitator with expertise in building jails who will help them explore opportunities, and hold community discussions on where to put the jail and the cost.

“All of this is dependent on informing the community on the cost and location (of the new jail). If taxpayers don’t approve a millage, this is all gone,” he said.

 

Also discussed: Would the community vote for millage for a jail, if commissioners put money into the transit building and then moved it to a new location for more money?

Would a developer pay enough for the property to cover the cost of a new transit somewhere else? Wouldn’t renovating the transit raise its value?

 

Commissioner Heather Wing said Hastings and townships handle their own affairs without consulting the county. “Now they want to tell us how to vote to serve them…the ball has started rolling. I don’t think we should stop the ball.”

 

Voigt said the transit’s service would not be diminished by waiting a year, but the price would go up.
“Can it wait six months?” he was asked.

“Sure,” Voight said. “But what controls are in place for the future (after the six months?). The time to do it is when you can…we can’t see the future.”

 

Proposals to wait until after meetings with the facilitator and a 30 to 60 day delay were dropped as was a March 15, 2019 limit for ground breaking. They agreed the project would likely not get started before then anyway.