Superior, Douglas County close to lease agreement

Shelley Nelson, Superior Telegram, Wis.
·3 min read

Jun. 17—SUPERIOR — The city of Superior and Douglas County have tentatively reached an agreement for the city to lease its space in the county-owned Government Center.

After more than a year of negotiations, the city would agree to pay the county an annual base rent equivalent to 1% of the oil terminal tax distributed to the city, plus $250,000 annually for utilities and maintenance costs. The three-year agreement would be retroactive to 2023, the first year the city wasn't required to make an annual contribution to pay back the bonds Douglas County used for construction of the building.

It's the first time the city will lease space from the county despite moving into the building when it opened in 2003.

While the city and county had a memorandum of understanding after city officials decided to move into the building that called for a lease, no lease was ever executed.

The city made annual contributions to the county bonds to cover the cost of building the 33,600 square feet of space the city occupies and paid for annual maintenance and utility costs.

The city's bond payments ended when Douglas County paid off the bonds used to build the $44 million government facility.

"It's been a long process, but it was a 20-year problem," Mayor Jim Paine said. "So, it took a year to solve, and I would argue that the time was worth it. I think we are in agreement."

While there are probably some loose ends in the agreement, Paine said the city's intends to solve those over the next 1 1/2 years.

"Our intent through these long discussions was to improve the relationship and to solve this problem in the long term," Paine said. "We want to be good partners in the building."

The city's Finance Committee recommended approval of the lease Thursday, June 13. The City Council considers the lease at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18 in Room 201 of the Government Center.

If the agreement requires Douglas County Board approval, the County Board's agenda will be amended Wednesday, June 19, to address the matter during the board meeting Thursday, June 20, according to County Clerk Kaci Lundgren. She said it's not clear whether the County Board needs to approve the lease or if the county administrator has the authority to give the go-ahead without a board vote.

"I'd just as soon get this off of everybody's plate," Douglas County Board Chairman Mark Liebaert said. "I don't want to wait until August to start dealing with this."

Liebaert said he would like to see the city and county begin talks again to figure out the next lease agreement before the current lease expires Dec. 31, 2025.

Even if a new lease agreement isn't in place before 2026, the city would have the option to remain in the building by paying rent on a month-to-month basis.