On Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Jefferson County Commissioners voted 2-1 not to renew the county’s lease on The River building on Main Street in Boulder.
In April, Jefferson County Commissioners voted 2-1 to lease The River building for six months, paying $3,000 a month for rent, money that was part of an American Rescue Plan Act grant. Commissioners agreed to lease the River building to buy the county time to select the Public Health Department’s next home, which could be The River building or could be Cottage Five on the south campus of the former Montana Developmental Center – a 10,782 square-foot building with potential to serve as a wellness center. A feasibility study for Cottage Five was expected by Sept. 15.
High Plains Architects of Billings contacted commissioners at the beginning of September requesting an extension to the deadline of the feasibility study. According to High Plains Architect Josi Wilgus, High Plains has experienced scheduling conflicts with several consultants key to the study. High Plains expects the feasibility study will be ready by mid-November. Hazardous materials cleanup paid by Brownfields funding will begin in January or February of 2024.
Despite the feasibility study likely only a few months out, Jefferson County Commissioner Cory Kirsch said he’s hesitant to lease The River building any longer.
“I don’t want to keep dragging [River building owner Greg Hughes] along and get him into winter where he can’t do anything with the building,” Kirsch said at the meeting. “In my opinion, I say we let the cards fall and let the private folks figure out what they are going to do with it.”
Hughes – who was not present at the meeting – told The Monitor that, although he is disappointed with the commissioners’ decision, he understands.
“[The commissioners] make the decision on what’s best for the county and ,” Hughes said, “not me.”
Hughes added that he doesn’t know what the future holds for The River building, and that there isn’t a contract in place with a potential new owner or tenant. The county’s lease of the River building ends on Sept. 30.
Hughes also told The Monitor that no decisions on the building will be made before the lease ends, and that he doesn’t expect any decisions to be made in October, either. This being the case, Hughes said he wished commissioners would have been open to a month-to-month lease until the feasibility study came back.
Public Health Supervisor Pam Hanna said she is hopeful Cottage Five will be the next home for the Public Health Department, and she is willing to stay in the small office on Main Street until it is ready, which could take five years or more.
“In terms of being able to resurrect and restore a historic place in our community, that would be a better option for us than The River building,” Hanna said in the Sept. 19 meeting. “But I don’t know what our best option is to house emergency personnel. There’s a lot that makes Cottage Five a better option, but I don’t know what our best option is, simply because we don’t have a feasibility study done for Cottage Five. We don’t have concrete facts.”
“[Cottage Five] is a larger, more complex building, but it’s also a really cool historic building that the county already owns,” Jefferson Local Development Corporation representative Leah Lewis added during the meeting.
Jefferson County Commissioner Bob Mullen, who was the dissenting vote for terminating the lease on The River building, said he has his concerns with Cottage Five, as he expects it to be a multi-million dollar project, and it’s unclear where the money would come from to turn Cottage Five into a wellness center.
The dollar figure for the renovation costs, however, will allow the county to apply for different grants and tax credits, Lewis said, adding that the county currently has around $800,000 in federal funds committed to the project.
If the renovation cost for Cottage Five is more than the commissioners can afford, a new home for Public Health might be back to the drawing board. And, if that’s the case – and Hughes still has the building available – he said he’d be happy to revisit a leasing option with the county.
As for what business is currently interested in the River, Hughes would neither confirm nor deny its involvement in the sale of marijuana.
Commissioners said some community members had expressed concerns that a marijuana shop was interested in the River building. County Attorney Steve Haddon spoke up on this issue during the meeting, saying, “I don’t think county commissioners should be in a position to hold onto this building in essence to leverage someone else out of it.”
“With all due respect, we are not in it for that reason,” Mullen retorted. “This is not marijuana versus the health department. We are in this to provide a space for the health department. They came to us. They wanted more space. St. James wanted part of their building. They wanted to move out, and there’s no place else in Boulder to go. We’ve taken what is available. And I hate to wait. It’s going to take years to get Cottage Five completed.”
Nevertheless, Kirsch said several community members expressed heartburn over the county paying for the River building, some even going so far as accusing the county of “bailing out” Hughes. Ultimately, Hughes said he wishes he could still be operating The River Pizza and Subs out of the building, but he said the workforce was no longer there to make it a sustainable, successful business.
“What do you do?” he said.
And as for what’s next for the Public Health Department, Hanna said time will tell.
“It has been a long and somewhat bumpy process determining what the best option for public health and our community is related to our building expansion,” Hanna told The Monitor. “I am grateful to the commissioners for listening to our needs and pursuing a good option for us to grow with. Completing the feasibility study on Building Five is what I have requested of them. I believe with time we will find the best option for public health’s new home.”
