The Cherokee Department of Family and Children Services is seeking a new building to house its approximately 65 employees but the Canton City Council has twice tabled a $3.7 million deal for a facility because some members say it’s too costly and could leave taxpayers on the hook financially.
The public/private partnership with Lilburn-based Forum Municipal Development Services is complex and involves DFCS, the state, a bank and the city. Essentially Canton would provide the funds to renovate an existing 20,000 square foot shell of a building on Kimberly Road and DFCS would lease it for 20 years, with an option to renew every year.
Supporters said the deal is a great one for the city because in 20 years, it will own the building along with about six acres of land. If DFCS decides not to renew its lease, the bank – not the city – is on the hook for the facility, said Ward 1 Councilman Bob Rush, who favors the plan first brought to the city in February.
“I’ve looked at it very closely. No matter what happens, there’s no skin off the city’s nose,” said Rush.
But Mayor Gene Hobgood, Ward 3 Councilman Glen Cummins, Ward 3 Councilman John Beresford and Ward 2 Councilman Jack Goodwin say there is an extra cost of $800,000 to $1.2 million built into the project and somebody is pocketing it as profit.
“What they’ve done is looked at the square footage and decided how much that is worth and said that’s how much it costs to build it. And they finance that amount,” said Cummins, who estimates the real cost is about $2.5 million – not $3.7 million.
Forum Municipal Development Services partner Don Chandler said Friday the proposal is good for the city and there’s no way Canton or its taxpayers will be on the hook if for some reason DFACS decides to pull out on the lease.
“We’re eager to sit down and talk with city officials about it and explain anything that needs explaining,” he said.
Beresford said he is wary of rushing into any new deal because the city already is carrying too much bond debt for municipal projects including the YMCA and the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir. He did not like the way the lengthy proposal read, he said.
“I kept reading what would happen if, for some reason, the state defaulted on its obligation and it said that should not impact the city’s credit or bond rating,” said Beresford. “I was looking for a more definitive word like ‘will’ not.”
There’s also been lobbying by at least one elected state official encouraging the city to make the deal. Rep. Calvin Hill, D-Canton, confirmed last week that he called Goodwin and left a message recommending he vote in favor of the deal.
“It was just a personal observation from me as a friend because I think it would be good for downtown Canton,” said Hill. “I would never get involved in my capacity as legislator. It was personal.”
Hobgood said the council may take the matter up again in three or four months. Cummins said he plans to meet with Chandler this week to discuss it further. Rush says that, as far as he’s concerned, the mayor’s and council members' objections are all “hullabaloo.”
“The bank has looked at the numbers and DFCS and the state have looked at the numbers and they’ve had no problem with the numbers,” he said. “So I don’t know why the mayor and some members have a problem with the numbers.”
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