SNOW HILL – The Worcester County Commissioners agreed to lease storage space in Snow Hill for the Worcester County Board of Elections.
The commissioners voted Tuesday to conceptually approve a three-year lease of 4,500 square feet of the Royal Plus building at 201 Belt St. The decision came in spite of a request from Election Director Patricia Jackson for a five-year lease of a larger portion of the building.
“I’m concerned because that’s 1,000 square feet less than we currently have,” Jackson said.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Harold Higgins, the county agreed to provide the board with storage space in the Worcester County Liquor Control warehouse in 2015. Last year, Higgins advised the board the county was getting out of the liquor business and that a new space would be needed to store voting equipment.
“Elections board staff researched available options in Snow Hill and we were unable to identify a mutually agreeable location,” Higgins wrote in a memo to the commissioners.
When he told the board in July of 2017 that the warehouse space would in fact be usable for another year, board members declined to use it.
“In late July, we were advised by the elections board staff that they were not interested in relocating to the former liquor control facility due to roof issues and mold,” Higgins wrote. “In August we hired Sussex Environmental to perform testing on air quality and the reported mold issue. Sussex Environmental reported that no mold was observed on the voting equipment although mold spores were present on some surfaces in the warehouse…”
The company recommended basic cleaning be performed.
Higgins’ recommendation Tuesday was that the commissioners approve a three-year lease of space at the Royal Plus building. Jackson said the property’s real estate agent said nothing short of a five-year lease would be possible because the property owner had to install things like walls and thermostats before the space could be used.
Commissioner Jim Bunting, however, made a motion to approve a three-year lease and to have Higgins and at least one commissioner attend board of elections meetings until the lease was finalized. When asked what would happen if Royal Plus didn’t approve a three-year lease, Higgins said he could present other options.
Higgins recommended a three-year lease because he didn’t expect it to take longer to improve the permanent election board space at 100 Belt St.
The commissioners voted unanimously to approve Bunting’s motion.
