By Lisa ZahnerORCHID — When the Orchid Town Council meets on Monday in special call session, the main topic will be deciding where the town will be headquartered after Dec. 31.
The lease on the current location in strip center 7406 US Highway 1 in Wabasso is expiring and town officials are looking for a new, less expensive place to rent.
“In light of the current national and local economic crisis and always striving to be as fiducially responsible as possible, it was determined at the Town’s Budget Workshop to reduce the amount of monies spent annually on rent to house the Town’s small staff” stated Town Manager Deb Branwell. “An offer was made to the current landlord to extend the lease at the new budgeted amount for the upcoming fiscal year. He declined the offer, hence the need to explore avenues for relocation,” she said. “It is the Town’s desire to execute a short term lease of 24 months or less in the same general vicinity that Town Hall currently is located.”
In discussions earlier this year, Town Council members brought up the option of purchasing or building a permanent home for Town Hall somewhere on the barrier island, actually in the Town of Orchid. That initiative still seems to be on the table, thogh it is not clear how the project might be funded.
The Orchid Town Council meets at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19 in the small conference room at the Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club. The meeting is open to the public.