Vance County Chief Code Enforcement Officer Bob Rosch may have found a “Plan B” when it comes to creating a one-stop shopping concept to house the city and county planning and inspection offices under one roof.
And it would come at a substantial savings to the county.
Rosch told the Vance County Board of Commissioners Monday that the county can make room at the county-owned space at 305 Young St., Suite B, for city staff.
When he looked at the big picture, he and staff decided that they can stay in their current location, make space for city staff and save the county some money in the process.
“We can fit everybody into that space for a lot less money,” Rosch said, adding that City Manager Paylor Spruill was “very impressed.”
No motion was made, but commissioners offered consensus for county staff to continue discussions with the city. County Manager Renee Perry said pursuing this project aligns with the commissioners’ goal to improve relationships with elected city officials that was discussed at their recent board retreat.
Rosch appeared before the Henderson City Council in February with the idea that the county would pay for $300,000 in renovations and upfits to a city-owned building, putting the city and county planning and inspections offices in one spot.
The motion was narrowly defeated in a 5-4 vote – Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott cast the tie-breaking vote to break the deadlock. At the time, Elliott said she felt the 20-year lease – at $1 a year, was inadequate.
Rosch told commissioners Monday that this Plan B would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 to add partitions to make new offices and make room for the city staff. That’s a savings of $200,000.
Commissioner Tommy Hester said, “I don’t see a negative to it.” Rosch said the city is looking into the possibility of leasing or purchasing a property at the corner of Walnut and Montgomery streets to provide additional parking if needed.
Rosch said, “It has been made clear to the city that we will not share any revenue. There will be no revenue given to the city.”
Rosch told commissioners that he expects the City Council will discuss the project at its upcoming meeting on Monday; the topic likely will be on the commissioners’ April agenda.
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