TITLE: Title
Request to Authorize the Town Manager to Sign Carr Mill Office Space Lease
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to authorize the Town Manager to sign a three-year office lease agreement with Carr Mill Mall Limited Partnership.
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DEPARTMENT: Town Manager’s Office
CONTACT INFORMATION: Richard White, Town Manager, RWhite@CarrboroNC.gov <mailto:RWhite@CarrboroNC.gov>; 919.918.7315
INFORMATION: In the FY23 Budget, the Town Council approved five new full-time positions including an Assistant Town Manager, Chief Race and Equity Officer, Race and Equity Manager, Grants Manager, and Assistant to the Town Manager, and converted the part-time Communication and Engagement Specialist position to a full-time position. Due to the limited office space available in Town Hall, staff searched for temporary office space outside of Town Hall including Bim Street, CommunityWorx, Carr Mill Mall, and the South Sheryl-Mar Building.
Carr Mill Mall currently has a 1,500 square foot suite that will meet the Town’s office space needs. Housing and Community Services, Economic Development, Race and Equity, and Communication and Engagement staff will move to this new space, if approved.
Staff anticipates this move and office lease to be temporary (estimated to be three years) until the 203 Project and the Town Hall renovation can be completed. The lease includes off-site parking and utilities. The Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Assistant to the Town Manager, and the Grants Manager will occupy the Town Hall offices.
At the December 6, 2022 Town Council Meeting, the Council voted to table this item and requested that the Town Manager and Barbara Jessie-Black, CommunityWorx President and CEO, revisit the office space options and associated costs. On January 3, 2023, Ms. Jessie-Black submitted a revised plan (Attachment B) and associated costs for approximately 1,610 square feet, a reduction from the original 2,409 square feet and multiplier for shared space. The revised plan provided offices that are split between two opposite sides of the building which would not be ideal. The total three-year cost for the CommunityWorx lease exceeds the Carr Mill leasing costs by $75,145 which includes a three percent annual increase. The total three-year expenditure for these leases and capital outlay expenses follows:
|
|
Year 1 |
3 Year Total |
|
|
CARR MILL MALL |
|
|
|
|
|
Lease |
$34,500 |
$103,500 |
|
|
|
IT Costs |
$12,900 |
$12,900 |
|
|
|
Retrofitting/Furnishings |
$26,760 |
$26,760 |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
$74,160 |
$143,160 |
|
|
|
Total Capital |
|
$39,660 |
|
|
COMMUNITY WORX |
|
|
ORIGINAL 3-YEAR TOTAL |
|
|
Lease |
$40,248 |
$124,405 |
$262,436 |
|
|
IT Costs |
$20,900 |
$20,900 |
$20,900 |
|
|
Retrofitting/Furnishings |
$73,000 |
$73,000 |
$133,790 |
|
|
TOTAL |
$134,148 |
$218,305 |
$417,126 |
|
|
Total Capital |
|
$93,900 |
$154,690 |
On January 27, 2023, the Town Manager and Jon Hartman-Brown, Economic Development Director, discussed the proposed leasing options with Ms. Jessie-Black by telephone.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: In addition to the leasing and upfit costs, there will be some minor retrofitting and furnishing costs for the existing Town Hall office space.
RECOMMENDATION:r The Town Manager recommends that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to enter into a lease agreement with Carr Mill Mall Limited Partnership for 1,500 square feet of office space beginning March 1, 2023 for a three-year period.