York leaders: Build county office downtown

Members of a York ad hoc committee on a county office building have presented arguments on why the building should remain downtown.

Attorney Steve McCrae Jr., who spoke to the York County Council at two meetings during the past month, said state law dictates that county offices must be located at the courthouse.

“If they move those offices out to Arrow Road, which is the recommendation of the county manager, they will not be at the courthouse,” McCrae said.

However, he noted that other counties are not in compliance with that law.

The county is considering whether to build a new office complex on Arrow Road, on property owned by York Electric Cooperative the edge of town, or downtown next to the historic courthouse.

County Manager Bill Shanahan and a committee of residents studying the county’s facilities have recommended the county move its offices out of the downtown Agricultural Building and build an office off Arrow Road.

Shanahan said a new administration building would spur development on Arrow Road off the Alexander Love Bypass (S.C. 5). He also said the opening of a renovated courthouse would boost economic activity downtown.

He said the county would receive 15 acres on Arrow from the electric cooperative in a swap for 30 undeveloped acres in the East York Industrial Park.

The County Council decided earlier this month to defer a vote on the decision until they receive traffic figures for the two sites, compiled by the engineering department. The traffic figures are expected to be presented at the council’s March 16 meeting.

Consultants with Cumming Construction Management, which considered four options for the new building, last month estimated the cost of the Arrow Road site at $22.9 million.

Building a downtown site at Congress and Jefferson would be the next cheapest option at $23.7 million, according to Cumming consultant James Britton.

Britton said that any downtown location would limit future expansion of a renovated county courthouse, and that during construction it would displace parking and some staff offices.

McCrae argued the cost is not a deciding factor because estimates for both sites were figured with a 10 percent contingency.

Although the estimate for the downtown site is about $1.2 million more, he said, with the 10 percent contingency “the price difference is insignificant.”

McCrae said the land swap is not a good plan because when the county takes 15 acres from the electric cooperative, that property will be off the tax rolls forever. The downtown site is already owned by the county and already off the tax rolls, he said.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The economic development arguments don’t add up.”

He also disagreed with the argument that the Arrow Road site would be more convenient. “Both locations are as convenient to 85 percent of the county’s population as the other,” he said.

He said planned improvements to Arrow Road should not be tied to a county office building there.

“The Arrow Road improvements have been discussed for many years by previous councils,” he said. “The reason it was being done was for economic development, so it ought to be done regardless.”

McCrae said: “We think all the facts clearly support our position that the administration building to replace the present Agricultural Building should be at the intersection of West Jefferson and South Congress streets in York.”

York Mayor Eddie Lee said downtown commerce is another issue.

“We have economic reasons,” he said. “There are 44 businesses in that radius within the downtown area. There are a lot of small businesses, and they would be adversely affected if the county offices left.”

Lee said the city annexed 77 acres owned by the electrical cooperative with the expectation that there would be commercial development there. He said it’s not zoned for county offices.

“I think the entire thing needs to be scrutinized,” he said.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 2:40 PM with the headline "York leaders: Build county office downtown."