The Carroll County Board of Supervisors has expressed an interest in putting together a proposal for the City of Carroll, offering to rent them the office space at the Fricke Building on Court Street. The city had recently put out Requests for Proposals (RFPs) as a means to measure the savings that could be realized if the library and city hall projects were to be done as a whole instead of phased out over a couple of years. Neil Bock says that although the space will not be adequate to house the library and city hall offices both, it would be a more than adequate space for the city offices.
Bock adds that the supervisors have contracted with Lenz Insurance and Real Estate to promote this property. Since they will receive monetary compensation once the office space is occupied, he suggests they contact Lenz and get their expertise and assistance with drafting of the proposal. Dean Schettler voiced his concerns about a couple of items.
The supervisors did say they would have to look at ways to provide the handicap parking spaces that would be required, with handicap accessibility on the north side of the building. Bock says that though this wouldn’t be the way they would design a space if building it now, it is certainly usable for the up to two-year timeframe being requested. City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver says he has been surprised by the conversations that have already taken place since they put out the RFPs.
He says, as they looked at it, there are some benefits and headaches that can be eliminated if they can avoid the phased-project approach. The city has set a deadline of 1 p.m. on Oct. 2 for the return of the RFPs. The county’s goal is to have a proposal to review at the next meeting on Monday, Sept. 25 and, if need be, a chance to review the fine-tuned document on Oct. 2 before the deadline. City employees will meet with OPN within a week after RFPs are received to get an idea of whether or not the moving of both entities will save them money in the long run. Pogge-Weaver adds they would want to get through the library’s busy summer season before considering moving into a rental space. This would most likely be in September of 2018, if all things fall into place.
