No impact on the County General Fund.
The County sold the old Lafayette library building to the City of Lafayette under a Purchase and Sale Agreement dated November 25, 2013 (the PSA). Under the PSA, the County was required to use the net proceeds of the sale of the property to the City only for Lafayette library purposes. The agreement also stated that, if the City sold the property before 2023, the City had to use the proceeds of the sale only for Lafayette library purposes. Because the City would like to sell the property to the local school district and to use the net proceeds of the sale for a purpose other than supporting the Lafayette library, it is necessary to amend the PSA.
Under the proposed amendment to the PSA, there are no restrictions on the City’s use of the sale proceeds. The County’s use of the net proceeds of the 2013 property sale to the City is still restricted, but less so. Under the proposed amendment, the County Librarian will have the obligation to use the funds, which have been set aside in a special account, for Lafayette library purposes. The proposed amendment expands the use of the set-aside proceeds to include items that the City would normally pay for, like furniture and other furnishings and equipment. Finally, if the property is sold by the City to another public entity, the proposed amendment requires the City to make sure that the public entity agrees to restrict its use of the sale proceeds to mutually-agreeable Lafayette library purposes.
The proposed amendment to the PSA does not impose any new burden on the County and is intended to simplify the Librarian’s use of funds that have been set aside for the Lafayette library.
This Board Order also authorizes the Public Works Director to execute a Library Lease and Service Agreement with the City of Lafayette that will govern the County’s operation of the City’s new library. The form of the Library Lease and Service Agreement was approved by the Board on October 18, 2010, and is consistent with agreements the County has signed with other cities.
Both the City and the County will be required to use the sale proceeds of the old library for the original, specified Lafayette library purposes and the City would not be able to use its sale proceeds for general City purposes.