Lewis County considers office building plan

LOWVILLE — Lewis County officials are exploring an office building project that could address space shortages and reduce lease payments. Attracting more federal stimulus funding would be a bonus.

"If that's available, we've got plans and are ready to go," County Manager David H. Pendergast said.

At the county's behest, Bernier, Carr & Associates, Watertown, has drawn up a proposed floor plan for a two-story, 48,000-square-foot office building on outer Stowe Street.

Bernier, Carr officials last month shared their preliminary work with the legislative Buildings and Grounds Committee.

The proposed structure, projected to cost about $9 million to $10 million, would be built either between the County Office Building and the Public Safety Building or to the west of the PSB.

However, at this stage in the process, it is more of a space-needs analysis than a definite capital project, Mr. Pendergast said.

"We're a couple of years probably from doing anything," he said.

Legislators last year placed $850,000 into a capital reserve fund for a new office building, primarily for the Department of Social Services.

The proposed building would eliminate the need to lease office space for the Department of Motor Vehicles, Board of Elections and Mental Health Department. The county pays about $130,000 annually in rent for those offices.

DMV and Mental Health also both "need more space to serve their clients and the public," Mr. Pendergast said.

A new office building also could allow the county to clear out the old jail on South State Street and sell it, possibly putting it back on the tax rolls.

According to tentative floor plans of the proposed building, the DMV office and Office for the Aging would be in the front part of the first floor, with the Board of Elections in back.

The second floor would house DSS and the dispatch and emergency operations centers, moved from the PSB to free more space in that building. A section in the rear was left open for future needs.

Plans also include a large kitchen facility that could serve the proposed three-building complex.

The Mental Health Department would move from leased space at Lowville Commons on South State Street into the space used by DSS in the current outer Stowe Street office building.

Bernier, Carr officials plan to discuss the proposal further with county department heads before working on a tentative project budget and exterior models.

The county over the past few years has built a new $11.5 million courthouse behind the old one on North State Street and spent another $3 million to renovate the old courthouse, reducing the need for rental space.

However, lawmakers chose to move the DMV office from the old courthouse into a leased building on Route 12 just south of the village, primarily for better parking. And the Board of Elections office was moved into the former St. Peter's Catholic School on Trinity Avenue to meet state requirements for space, security and accessibility for the new electronic voting machines.