Lowndes County supervisors are looking to negotiate a new lease agreement with AbilityWorks for the organization’s longtime production facility near the Columbus-Lowndes Airport.
The local branch of the organization, which provides work opportunities for the disabled, has operated from a 25,000 square-foot, county-owned building on Datco Industrial Road for 20 years under a lease agreement that calls for it to pay $500 per month in rent. The lease agreement, which expires in February, includes an option to renew the lease up to 20 years.
At Thursday’s supervisors’ meeting, however, County Administrator Ralph Billingsley reported to the board the organization had not paid any rent since moving into the building 20 years ago.
“That’s $120,000 that should have been paid to the county,” Billingsley said. “We have a 25,000 square-foot building owned by the county and, from the taxpayer standpoint, we have got to look out for the taxpayers’ interests.”
AbilityWorks, which operates 17 facilities throughout the state and is managed and operated by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation, is looking to renew its lease for the Columbus space for 10 years at $500 per month.
Board of Supervisors President Harry Sanders said the county should hold off on that decision.
“They haven’t paid any rent in that 20 years, so I don’t know if the lease is even valid,” Sanders said. “If it’s not, that renewal option in the original lease isn’t valid either.”
Sanders said he talked with an official with AbilityWorks about the lack of payment, and the official said the organization was operating under the impression the rent was waived.
“He said when they signed the lease, the board president back then, Johnny McCrary, told them that even though the lease called for $500 per month in rent, they didn’t have to pay any rent,” Sanders said. “We researched the board minutes, and we can’t find anything in the minutes that mentions that.”
Ultimately, supervisors voted to have Billingsley and Board Attorney Tim Hudson work on negotiating a new contract with AbilityWorks – one that would require some rent be paid.
They did not mention pursuing any back rent due from the current agreement.
Billingsley said he hopes to report on the negotiations when the supervisors convene for their Jan. 13 meeting.
“We do want them to be able to continue to provide these services,” Billingsley said. “Hopefully, we can sit down with them and find some common ground.”
District 3 Supervisor John Holliman said he wants to see the agency pay more in rent than the current lease provides.
“I’m not sure $500 per month is enough,” he said. “That’s a pretty big building.”
The program
The Columbus AbilityWorks is currently without a facilities manager, but production manager Steve Newell said Thursday the building was built for the agency.
“I was here when they built the building,” Newell said. “I don’t have any knowledge of what the agreement was, but I do know that the building was built for our use.”
Newell said the facility provides work and training for citizens with a variety of disabilities.
“We take in people with vocational disabilities and, through contracts with local industries, we are able to evaluate them to see if they have work potential,” Newell said. “The average length of stay is two to four months. Typically, we work with the The Pines and Cady Hill. We take referrals from them for people who are going through treatment — mostly alcohol and drug dependency — to make sure they are able to work. It’s really a way for them to re-enter the workforce after they’ve been through recovery.”
Newell said the typical workforce is 20 to 25 people.
“The work varies,” Newell said. “We make fishing lures, scented candles, packaging products, various things depending on the contracts we have at any given time.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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