A dispossessory notice filed against Effingham County could be negated, after the property owner asked the magistrate court to do so.
According to the dispossessory notice filed last Monday, the county owed $3,860.49 for back rent on the Brown Building, which it leases. The building’s owners also were asking for $95 in court costs. The amount of back rent the building’s owners, Stanley Brown II and Betty Brown, were seeking is equivalent to three months of lease payments.
County commissioners were informed of the dispossessory notice at the start of their meeting last Tuesday and discussed it in executive session. The building’s owners, after filing the dispossessory notice, asked to have it dismissed.
“Although no formal action was taken Tuesday night, if a satisfactory resolution can be negotiated, it will be presented to the board for approval in an open and public meeting,” temporary county administrator Toss Allen said.
Commissioners are scheduled to have a special called meeting Tuesday at 5 p.m., and they will take up the issue of a new lease for the building.
A dispossessory is a formal action by a landlord to remove a tenant from a property.
The Brown Building is across the street from the county’s administrative complex. The county rents the building and sublets it to the Department of Juvenile Justice. The public defender’s office also uses the building.
The office space being leased to Juvenile Justice is 1,328 square feet, and the county entered into a lease with the state in 2004 for three years. Another lease for five years with an option was signed for $1,236.83 a month.
The county’s lease for the building called for rent payments of $1,000 a month to its owners.
Under the proposal from the building’s owners, the county would pay $1,236.83 a month on a one-year lease, with renewal options on one-year terms for four years.
Commissioners approved a lease agreement at their March 19 building for the Brown building, and at the time, county director of community relations Adam Kobek said they were trying to find new office space for the Department of Juvenile Justice.
