The City of San Angelo purchased two downtown buildings with the possibility of hosting the Police Department. The most recent buy involved the former Standard Times building on West Harris. City Council approved up to $950,000 in April 2021. GoSanAngelo reported:
San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter said the city is exploring options to turn the building into a possible site for a new police station.
"We are excited about the opportunity that purchasing the Standard-Times building presents to the city," Gunter said. "We have known for a long time that our police department has needed a new building."
The City closed on the Standard Times building last summer. The possible use shifted after purchase according to City Council's background packet. It states:.
In August 2021, the City of San Angelo purchased the old Standard Times Building located at 34 W. Harris Street. The building was bought with the intention of transitioning it for use primarily by Public Works and Utility Billing.
The earlier purchase was the former First Financial Bank building on Beauregard. GoSanAngelo reported:
Originally City officials were pushing to renovate the former bank building into the San Angelo Police Department's new headquarters. However, Police Chief Frank Carter rejected the idea because remodeling the building to meet SAPD needs would be too expensive. Carter also said his priority was getting additional officers and pay raises rather than the building.
Over four years the City's press release revealed which departments would occupy the new space::
The City of San Angelo’s water billing office is moving to the former First Financial Bank building at 301 W. Beauregard Ave. Its first day of operations in its new location will be Monday, Oct. 30.
The water billing office will occupy the first floor of the newly renamed City Hall Annex. Also on the first floor will be administrators and other employees of the Water Utilities, Operations, Public Works and Engineering Services departments.
Next week City Council will consider hiring architects to redesign the Standard Times building interior for $135,000 as well as approve funds for property taxes ($28,003), earnest money ($60,000) and utilities ($15,000).
Tom Green County Appraisal District received a check from the City of San Angelo for $28,002.93 on January 27, 2022. That was two months ago.
Earnest money would have been offered prior to closing and netted out of the purchase price on 8-20-2021.
According to real estate attorneys, earnest money funds are basically a deposit on a property being offered for sale. This money is put into an escrow account where it stays while the details of the sale are finalized. Giving a seller earnest funds means the buyer agrees to purchase the property once negotiations are completed. In return for these funds, the seller agrees not to sell the property to anyone else. When the sale of the property is finalized, the earnest money as well as any earned interest is applied to the purchase price.
Why would Council need to approve $60,000 in additional funds if the deal was within the original $950,000 approved?
Given the first two expenses already occurred I assume some portion of the $15,000 in utilities has also been expended. It's not clear how much the city has already paid utility providers. It appears staff is asking Council to rubber stamp funds already spent.
City Manager Daniel Valenzuela dealt with the delivery and installation of over $100,000 in Water Utility furniture prior to City Council approval. It wasn't his faux pas. Is the furniture sturdy enough to survive two moves? Hopefully so.
Update 4-2-22: San Angelo Live reported on the agenda item but raised no questions about the change in intended use or requested funding for items already paid.
Update 4-5-22: City Council approved all the items under this presentation. No one spoke or asked about the shift in usage and why Water Utility billing needs to move after relocating to prime downtown office space in 2017.
Update 6-6-22: SAPD will go into the City Hall Annex as proposed in 2017. A City Council Strategic Planning session included a slide addressing this.
Update 5-23-23: The city budgeted $14.3 million to upgrade the Standard Times building for Public Works and other departments. Staff will move from the former First Financial Bank building (City Hall Annex) into the Standard Times space. At that point the cost to upgrade the former bank building for a police station will be identified.
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