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SALEM -- With no discussion, city council held second and third readings and voted 5-2 to approve using $47,500 of council contingency money toward the purchase of the Oak Street office building sought by the parks department.
Originally, the thought was that council would just hold second reading at the special meeting and then do a third reading for passage at next week's meeting. Instead, Councilwoman Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey asked Thursday for statutory rules to be suspended so the second and third readings could be held and a vote taken -- the rest of council agreed to take the vote.
On Tuesday night, she had attempted to have all three readings at once for a vote, but the attempt failed 5-2 when Councilmen Geoff Goll and Steve Faber both voted no, so she had to settle for just first reading. In order to suspend statutory rules to have all three readings at once, there must be six positive votes.
This time all seven council members agreed to suspend the rules so a vote could take place.
Goll and Faber cast the two negative votes against using the council contingency fund for the building purchase.
"I'm having a real hard time spending $95,000 for two-and-a-half employees," Goll said.
That's the purchase price for the former doctor's office at 2222 Oak St., just off of Southeast Boulevard. Earlier this week, council approved the parks department securing a loan through a five-year renewable note that will be repaid over 20 years for up to $70,000.
That amount will likely decrease now that council has agreed to chip in half the cost of the purchase price for the building which will become the city-owned home to the parks department staff, including the parks director, recreation supervisor and part-time administrative assistant. The parks department will have to contribute $47,500 so that could be the amount of the loan unless some money already in parks department accounts is used for part of that. Originally, the parks department planned to make a $25,000 down payment, then borrow $70,000.
Dickey was the one who suggested the city cover the entire cost through the council contingency fund, but after much discussion, Councilman Andrew Null suggested city council split the cost with the parks department.
Faber, who was the longtime parks director before parting ways with the parks commission early this year and later becoming a city councilman, said it's their project and he wishes them well with it, but it should stay their project without city council involvement with the money. He remains the building manager at the Memorial Building.
The Parks Commission had started working on the deal to buy the office building this fall, with plans to move out of the Memorial Building. The members had voted last year to separate their operations from the Memorial Building and this completes that process.
mgreier@salemnews.net