KEOSAUQUA —
The Van Buren County Board of Supervisors met with Benjamin Wright, executive director of Tenco Industries, Inc., concerning a possible agreement with Tenco to lease the county care facility.
The county is in the middle of a lease with Center Village, but that group is expected to dissolve by the end of the year. Tenco Industries will then operate the facility.
Wright presented a potential lease agreement for them to consider. Supervisors are considering possible action on assigning the current lease agreement between Van Buren County and Center Village, Inc., to Tenco Industries, Inc.
“The agreement is pretty much the same lease you currently have with Center Village, with the exception of sharing service plans with clients and also a reduction in the rent and maintenance costs,” Wright said.
Currently, Center Village pays the county $3,000 per month. The proposed agreement with Tenco has that amount $2,000 per month for the first year of the agreement and beginning the second and third year it shall be calculated using the previous fiscal year average resident census times $100 per month per resident.
The agreement calls for the county to be responsible for any repairs or maintenance to the building and attached fixtures, which exceed $5,000.
Wright said Tenco Industries is hesitant about the risk that may be involved.
Some residents are scheduled to leave and two have left, Wright said.
“We need to have at least 34 clients there, and anytime you get below 30, we’re going to have problems,” he said.
He said it’s possible that residents from other care facilities might choose to come to the Van Buren facility.
Supervisor Mark Meek asked Wright about critical assets that Tenco would need at the facility, and Wright said the vehicle would be important because it would be expensive to transport one there every time it was needed.
Richard Nichols said Center Village has hired an attorney to help with the dissolution of the nonprofit corporation.
Supervisors said they were favorable about Tenco Industries wanting to operate the facility.
However, Supervisor Chairman Ted Nixon said, “I would like to see this document [lease agreement] go to the county attorney, and he could negotiate with you. The earliest I would want to take action is the first meeting in January.”
Wright agreed.
In the meantime, Wright has moved his offices to the county care facility, and after the first of the year will act as its director “until I have someone in there I can feel comfortable with.”
In other action, the board:
• Met with county engineer Dave Barrett on road issues.
Regarding the recent snowstorm, Barrett said workers were out from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 and started out at 5 a.m. Friday. They were not pulled off duty.
• Approved a request from the city of Farmington for tax abatement on city-owned property.
• Adopted an ordinance designating the area within the corporate boundaries of Van Buren County as a revitalization area and adding a revitalization plan for the area.
• Made appointments to the following boards: CLG: Pat Shaw, Christie Daugherty and Dorothy Gilbert; Planning and Zoning: Phil Campbell; Condemnation: Farmer, Rick Plowman, knowledgeable of real estate, Nick Boley; Conservation Board: Bob Steingreaber; Board of Health: Twyla Peacock.
• Approved renewal of Delta Dental Insurance for fiscal year 2013-14.
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Van Buren supes, Tenco consider lease agreement
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