A proposed relocation of YVEDDI was raised at Monday night’s meeting of the Surry County Board of County Commissioners. In a back-and-forth discussion that followed the board tried to find the balance between fiscal responsibility and doing the greatest good for the people of Surry County, while voting to approve funding to hasten YVEDDI’s move to a new home in Mount Airy.
Commissioners debated whether it was the fairest use of taxpayer dollars to fund renovations of a privately owned building who would then be the landlord for YVEDDI. The counter argument holds that funding the costs needed to move a nonprofit that serves so many people across four counties would be of the greatest benefit to the most people.
The Yadkin Valley Economic Development District Inc. serves Surry, Stokes, Yadkin and Davie counties in the administration of community service programs. From Head Start to Meals on Wheels to legal aid for senior citizens, YVEDDI offers a wide array of services from their headquarters in the L. H. Jones Family Resource Center in Mount Airy, but a change may be in the works.
Ownership of the former J. J. Jones High School passed from Surry County to the African American Historical and Genealogical Society of Surry County over the summer, a move that was met by the alumni of Jones and members of the Black community with great pride.
They have plans to see their former school converted into a mixed used site with spaces for cultural heritage, meetings, community events, and perhaps living spaces. Their goal is to preserve a piece of their shared history for future generations.
Those plans have taken an unexpected turn this week as YVEDDI Executive Director Kathy Payne came before the board with a half million-dollar request that would help convert the site of the former Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care facility in the Ottenweller Building located on Technology Lane in Mount Airy into the new home of YVEDDI.
Payne said, “AAHGS have been very gracious to us, but we feel it would be better for our business to sustain our business to move into a more modern facility.”
She reminded the board, “The Jones Center as you know is an 83-year-old building in need of extensive repairs.” The facts remain the same as when the former J. J. Jones school, now the Family Resource Center, was added onto the county’s list of surplus properties last year.
The aging structure needs extensive repairs or renovations from windows, plumbing, wiring, floors, and HVAC. Surry County determined that the cost for upkeep of the Jones School building, as well as Westfield Elementary School, was simply more than the county could bear.
Those costs were only going to rise as those buildings continue to age with the same interior structures and internal fixtures that have reached or are nearing the end of their projected life cycle. Any cost estimates for construction or renovation projects these days are indeed just estimates as prices for materials remains in flux due to inflation or lingering constraints on supply chains.
YVEDDI has been presented with an opportunity to take over the former 16,000+ square foot hospice site with the owners of the Ottenweller building offering to cover the costs of the concrete work for YVEDDI.
Ottenweller has offered a 15-year leasing structure with YVEDDI with rent increases established at years three, six and 13 which will help the organization plan out budgets more accurately. Payne said, “They have offered us a rent that is very kind. In our research commercial real estate is $23/sq.ft. and they are offering this facility to us for at 66 cents/sq.ft. and have given us the option to sublet.”
Payne has received a quote of $500,000 from architect Tony Chilton for work that would need to be done to the proposed facility including walling off classrooms, adjusting the current HVAC and sprinkler systems, adding egress, kitchen appliances, a playground with fence, and child sized bathrooms.
One of the qualities the Ottenweller site offers that appeals most to Payne is that it is located all on one level. Ease of access will make things easier for mobility challenged seniors and children alike.
Payne asked the county to fund the renovations and offered that YVEDDI would reimburse the county as funding came in through grants. The board was hesitant to authorize taxpayer dollars to make renovations to a building the county does not own.
Commissioner Van Tucker noted that the county would be paying for renovations to a building where they would be a tenant. This would be tantamount to funding the renovation on behalf the renter he said, adding, “This is simply an issue that I am not sure is fair the Surry County taxpayer of being a lender. There are no guarantees in life… Money to upgrade someone else’s building is something I can’t support,” he said while thanking Payne and her organization for all they do.
The commissioners showed a bit of internal conflict with their deliberation, Commissioner Eddie Harris said difficult discussions like these are good for all parties involved. Even as a long-term member of the YVEDDI board, and one of the unanimous votes from their board who authorized Payne to investigate the relocation of the organization, Harris was one of the two nay votes on the motion joining with Tucker.
Commissioner Mark Marion echoed sentiments from his colleagues that all manner of funding for the renovations to the Ottenweller Building should be investigated. That should include discussions with potential lending institutions to see if YVEDDI could qualify for a loan outright as opposed to being funded by the county.
Commissioner Larry Johnson noted that any hesitancy from a lender could most likely be overcome, “I feel like between Surry County, our manager, our legal team, and our staff we could satisfy a bank’s terms.”
However, Johnson was ready to act and made a motion to authorize the funding for YVEDDI, “We’ve spread (Invest in Surry dollars) all over the county on ball fields, lights, gyms, shelters, medical ministries, you name it – and I feel y’all deserve an equal share.”
“I feel like we can back $400,000 so you can meet your timeline,” he said identifying a dollar amount lower than requested. Payne had identified YVEDDI cash on hand, a proposed grant from Mount Airy, and other private grants that may be coming that would help her with the costs – leading Johnson to the $400,000 figure.
He also suggested that the potential benefits to the residents of the four counties served would far outweigh any dangers in being the funding source for the renovations YVEDDI needs to make Ottenweller their home. “If we get three-fourths of it back, or we get zero back, I feel like its money well spent,” he concluded as the board voted 3-2 in favor of the request.
“We are very pleased that the commissioners recognize our dedication to providing support and services to the citizens of Surry County,” Payne said of Monday’s outcome. “We expect client outcomes to improve by being in an environment with greater accessibility, especially for those who may have cognitive or physical challenges.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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