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By GREGORY BACON
gbacon@observertoday.com
Chautauqua County's Department of Mental Hygiene is looking to renew its lease with the city of Jamestown, even though employees aren't happy with the building and are actively looking to relocate.
During the legislature's Audit and Control Committee, Trish McClennan, deputy director of Mental Hygiene and Social Services, discussed the lease extension.
"Last year we did a one-year contract with the city and that expires Dec. 31," she said. "We are looking for another one-year only contract. We are continuing to seek other options to see if there's other alternatives within the Jamestown area."
The Department of Mental Hygiene is located on the fifth floor of the Jamestown Municipal Building, 200 E. Third St.
"There have been some issues you folks have heard about with environmental situations there - roof leak, stained ceiling tiles - that have resulted in some state citations for us that we've had to address," McClennan said.
McClennan said they are requesting a lowering of the rent from September to December of this year.
"We were not able to use all the space we were leased because of some of the leaking, so we have requested an amount of $11,075 per month, reducing it to $6,092 for September to December," she said.
McClennan said if they do find another location to move to, she suspects it will take longer than a year to get it approved and remodeled, so she supports the one-year lease renewal.
She said Jamestown is working on the necessary improvements.
"We are continuing to work with the city of Jamestown to make the repairs needed for our clients and our staff," she said.
County attorney Patrick Slagle said the law department is working with Mental Hygiene on the situation.
"We've been in touch with the city," he said. "I know there's other options on the table that we're looking at for future plans. We're just trying to balance both sides."
Slagle said he supports staying there for now.
"At this current time, I think extending the lease would be the best fiscal option, but again we're only looking for a short-term increase, we're not looking for a multi-year lease," he said.
The new lease calls for the county to pay the city up to $14.60 per square foot. McClennan said they are requesting they not be billed for any part of the location that isn't usable. The $14.60 per square foot is the same rate they're paying this year.
When the time came for the committee to vote, Legislator Dan Pavlock, R-Sinclairville, voted against the resolution.
"I don't agree with continuing on with something that we're not in good shape with," he said.
McClennan told members of the Human Services Committee that the citations by the state were because of the ceiling tiles
"Any time there's a stained ceiling tile, the assumption is in New York state if you're either Department of Health or Office of Mental Health, is that it could be mold," she said. "We have had that checked for the safety of our clients and there have been no findings of mold."
McClennan said the stained ceiling tiles have been repaired, but they still have a roof leak.
"They've stated they will fix it. We're now back into winter so I know they won't be able to fix it until, earliest, the spring," she said.
She also said they've been dealing with this problem for several years.
The Department of Mental Hygiene recently relocated its Dunkirk office. McClennan said that move was easier because the Dunkirk office is much smaller than Jamestown's.
In Jamestown, they lease 9,100 square feet. McClennan said if they relocate, she doesn't want anything smaller, due to the number of clients they serve.
On Monday, the Jamestown City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution to provide $25,000 for an engineering study on the roof.
The full county Legislature will vote on final approval of the lease at its full meeting on Wednesday.