Legislation to appropriate $8 million to design and construct a new Supervisor of Elections office in LaVilla was filed Wednesday and will be introduced Tuesday to City Council.
Council member Clay Yarborough introduced the legislation, which supports building a consolidated elections facility at 816 W. Union St., commonly referred to as the Sax Property.
The elections office has two buildings — its main office Downtown at 105 E. Monroe St. and an elections center at the Gateway Mall at 5200-2 Norwood Ave.
The proposed LaVilla building would be at least 65,000 square feet in size and combine the functions of the two existing buildings.
Of the $8 million, $2.2 would come from a Gateway Projects fund, $4.8 million would be from the banking fund, with the remaining from Supervisor of Elections funds.
Yarborough said Wednesday he usually is hesitant to borrow from the banking fund, but the need is there. In addition, Yarborough said building a facility on City-owned land would result in monthly rent savings of $55,000 and the sale of the Monroe Street office would further defray costs.
He said the combined savings could pay off the building within 10 years.
Yarborough also said maintenance issues at the Gateway office as well as the Gateway Town Center being in receivership could affect the elections office, and the LaVilla consolidation could be a remedy.
"It's a great need," Yarborough said. "To me it is a benefit that greatly outweighs the cost."
Mayor Alvin Brown's administration issued a report Nov. 22 about the potential LaVilla elections office project, but stated the cost could be as much as $10.8 million, based on City Public Works estimates.
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said Wednesday the building project could come in below $8 million and is more likely to be in the $6 million to $7 million range after being bid.
The range is in line with the $6.8 million Holland referenced in the report as an estimate from a private developer.
"I think it will be a lot less," Holland said Wednesday.
In the report, Public Works said the project would take between 21 months, which includes the design and construction, and 26 months, which includes design, bid and build. Yarborough and Holland said Wednesday the project could be completed in an about a year.
Mayor's office spokesman David DeCamp said this morning the administration is reviewing the legislation and has no official comment.
Brown said previously he had concerns about building a new government facility during challenging budget times. The report also advocated for the Yates Building, at 231 E. Forsyth St. Downtown, as an option for a consolidated elections office.
The report said Holland had concerns about the Yates Building, specifically a lack of a sufficient loading dock to accommodate Election Day operations and a lack of freight elevators large enough to accommodate elections office needs.
Holland said Wednesday he had yet to fully read Yarborough's legislation but was "very supportive" of the idea, even though he still wanted to see the administration's Yates Building plans after recently touring the facility with Public Works Director Jim Robinson.
Yarborough also said he wanted to see the administration's proposal. He said the intent of his legislation was to kick-start the process but not jump ahead of the administration on the issue. At the same time, he said he did not want to see it fall too far behind.
The report recommends the administration and supervisor work toward a solution regarding the Yates Building and report back by Jan. 2. If the Yates Building could not accommodate the elections office, the administration recommended maintaining the Monroe Street location and pursuing a long-term lease at Gateway or another location to achieve savings.
Yarborough's legislation is slated to be heard by Council committees in mid-January.
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