Luzerne County Council may renew a lease for King’s College to continue using an upper parking lot across from the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre — but only for two years.
The lease was first enacted by prior commissioners in December 2003.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Friday the lease will only be two years because the county is completing a strategic plan and review of all county-owned assets, which includes the upper lot between Jackson and North Streets.
“The administration did not want to commit to a lengthy lease because the plan may recommend other county uses for that property,” Crocamo said.
Commissioners had maintained in 2003 the upper lot was not needed for county use because there was ample parking in the county’s Water Street parkade and along Water Street.
Some objected to the arrangement, arguing the upper lot was heavily used by county workers and public visitors doing business at the courthouse and Courthouse Annex on River Street and the Bernard C. Brominski Building on North Street.
The terms of the lease were not publicly released until September 2004, when access to the upper lot was blocked off, according to past published reports.
The lease agreement was $10,000 annually in the first decade and locked in two additional five-year renewals at $11,000 annually and then $12,000 per year.
In the proposed new agreement, which is up for discussion at Tuesday’s council work session, King’s will pay $15,000 in rent for 2024 and $16,000 for 2025.
During a 2017 council committee discussion, concerns were raised about a provision in the original agreement giving the college the right to purchase the lot for fair market value before the final renewal expired in December 2023 — even if the county wanted to keep the property.
No such purchase provision is included in the new two-year lease renewal, according to the agenda.
Tuesday’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.
Regarding the strategic plan, the administration is setting up interviews with qualified entities that responded to a public request for proposals, Crocamo said.
The selected entity will complete a five-year financial plan and strategic management planning program proposal.
Crocamo said the administration has been in communication with the state Department of Community and Economic Development over the past few months to discuss the need for an updated financial plan. The county is seeking grant funding to help cover the cost, she said.
The strategic plan would be part of a second phase and focus on implementation of the fiscal recommendations and include an asset management plan, she said.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
Dallas Post
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