AGENDA DATE: 5/9/2018
TITLE: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Use of the Levy House
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Resolution to approve an MOU with the City of Charlottesville for their use of the Levy House
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Letteri, Kamptner, Herrick, Henry, Freitas
PRESENTER (S): Michael Freitas
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Levy House, located at 350 Park Street, Charlottesville, Virginia, was purchased jointly by the County and the City on April 27, 2005. The building was used to temporarily house the Juvenile and Domestic Relations (J&DR) Court during the renovation and construction of that Court’s permanent facility. Since the relocation of the J&DR Court to its current location in August 2009, the building has, for the most part, been unoccupied. The County continued to use a portion of the building’s annex for record storage until March 2017 when the City’s Code Compliance official determined the building could not be occupied or used for storage since there was no running water, no electrical service, no operational heating or cooling system, and no operational fire protection system.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Quality Government Operations: Ensure County government’s capacity to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities
DISCUSSION: The City has undertaken a project to renovate their Circuit Court building. During that renovation, they would like to temporarily use a portion of the Levy House for their Circuit Court. The proposed MOU (Attachment A) was drafted detailing the conditions of that use. The City’s Circuit Court will occupy approximately one third of the building’s floor space as depicted on the renovation drawings (Attachment B) until August 31, 2019. The City would be responsible for all costs associated with renovating and operating this space. The proposed MOU provides for a $4,500 per month holdover rent should the City fail to vacate the building by the expiration date of the MOU. The current estimated construction start date of the Albemarle County General District Court project is Summer 2020, if approved by the Board to proceed.
BUDGET IMPACT: None.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
If the Board wishes to approve the proposed MOU, staff recommends that the Board adopt the attached resolution (Attachment C) approving an MOU with the City to use a portion of the Levy House and authorizing the County Executive to execute an MOU once it has been approved as to form and substance by the County Attorney.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - MOU
B - Charlottesville Circuit Court Courtroom Swing Space Drawings
C - Resolution