Luzerne County Council might extend a lease for King’s College to keep using an upper parking lot across from the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre — but for just two years.
The lease was first put into action by previous commissioners in December 2003.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Friday the lease will only be for two years because the county is finishing a strategic plan and review of all county-owned assets, including the upper lot between Jackson and North Streets.
Crocamo said, “The administration did not want to commit to a long lease because the plan might suggest other county uses for that property.”
Commissioners had stated in 2003 the upper lot was not necessary for county use because there was enough parking in the county’s Water Street parkade and along Water Street.
Some opposed 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 disclosed until September 2004, when access to the upper lot was blocked off, as reported in the past.
The lease agreement was $10,000 each year in the first decade and included two additional five-year renewals at $11,000 each year and then $12,000 annually.
In the proposed new agreement, 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 buy the lot for fair market value before the final renewal expired in December 2023 — even if the county wanted to keep the property.
The new two-year lease renewal does not include such a purchase provision, according to the agenda.
Tuesday’s work session comes after 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 chosen 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.
