MORGANTOWN (W.Va.) — Monongalia County commissioners and state court officials continue to disagree over a fair leasing price for county space used by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Now, county leaders are asking for intervention to force an agreement.
“Six months ago we contacted the West Virginia Supreme Court and said that we want them to be aware, this is how much it’s going to cost per square foot and we wanted $18 per square foot. They were only willing to give $12 and as the comment was that was the highest in the state,” Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom said.
“What they asked us to do was get one appraiser, which we did. We sent it back and they didn’t like it. So they asked for, by law they said they could, a second appraiser with all these credentials and comps. We did it and it came out to $24.90 a square foot for the costs of going downtown,” Bloom added. “The first one came in around $22 to $25. The second one, which their person that they approved and said that they felt comfortable with, came back as $24.90.”
In a December 21 letter to the commission, the administrative director of the West Virginia Supreme Court, Steven D. Canterbury, wrote, “No other location receives more than $11 per square foot including Kanawha and Berkeley Counties.” Citing state code 51-2A-20, Canterbury continued, “My approach to determining ‘a reasonable amount’ is to consider the rent that the AO (administrative office) pays in the state’s other urban counties, such as Kanawha Berkeley, Cabell, Ohio or Raleigh. Thus, the ‘reasonable amount’ from a statewide point-of-view limits the rent in Monongalia County to $12 per square foot.”
Without an agreement, Bloom claimed Monongalia County residents will be stuck with the bill over the next 25 years of the bond that covered the renovation of the Monongalia County Justice Center.
“We now have to come up with $79,000 more when paying the $1.2 million. It wasn’t in our budget because that is what the code clearly says. They should be paying. The concern now is they’re not willing to pay it,” Bloom added.
West Virginia code 51-2A-20 states “The administrative office of the supreme court of appeals shall pay to the county commission a reasonable amount as rent for the premises furnished by the county commission to the family court and his or her staff pursuant to the provisions of this section.”
Commissioners hope an agreement can be reached. “I think what we’re hoping is that we would have mediation, have 3 certified appraisers and have them look at it. I feel very confident that if you talk to anyone in Morgantown I think it’s almost a laugh that $12,” said Bloom. “It’s now up to the state, I believe it is very positive trying to work this out I do not understand why they’ve put us into this position as I said this is the 3rd situation we’ve dealt with.”
Bloom maintains other counties are watching for an agreement between the court and commission.
“We have been contacted by 25 counties. They’re waiting to see this because they believe they are also being underpaid.”