By Ken Esten Cooke —
Directors for the Gillespie Central Appraisal District will consider a new location for its upcoming tax collection services.
Representatives from the county’s taxing entities met Thursday morning at City Hall to consider an offer to lease soon-to-be-acquired land from the City of Fredericksburg adjacent to its warehouse facility on Friendship Lane.
The GCAD called the meeting after a combination of public outcry when they chose to use the 1960s-era Law Enforcement Building (county jail) and the estimated upgrade costs rose to make the jail compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
GCAD directors were presented with a scenario from the city where it leases enough land to hold a new, 6,000-square-foot building and roughly 30 spots for parking on a two-acre site on Friendship Lane (south of the Friendship and South Adams Street intersection).
Chief Appraiser David Oehler said he visited a modular building manufacturer in Navasota that could construct the building within a tight time frame. He said a price of $125-$150 per square foot would be expected and showed examples of bank and retail locations using this type of construction.
GCAD Chairman Tim Dooley said the board would consider that plan as well as one to use on-site construction.
Oehler said a quick timeline was needed as tax statements go out in October and the office will be besieged by tax payers at that time.
The need for a quick resolution was what led to the county commissioners offering the old jail location for a lease option. A 10-year lease had been greenlighted, but activists who want the area on Courthouse Square returned to green space after the county’s new jail becomes operational.
Timothy Kooch, who led the opposition to using the Law Enforcement Building, said commissioners should be acknowledged for a sincere intent in proposing a solution for the GCAD.
The GCAD and taxing entities will discuss lease prices and a timeline as the project moves ahead, said Kent Myers, city manager.
A complete update on Thursday's meeting will appear in next Wednesday's issue of theFredericksburg Standard-Radio Post.