County buys public defender's building

The Kootenai County commissioners voted 2-0 on Tuesday to purchase the building that houses the Public Defender's Office, leased by the county for 10 years.

"It makes sense for the taxpayers, and for Kootenai County," said Commissioner Todd Tondee before the vote at the county Administration Building.

How much Kootenai County pays the Panhandle Area Council for the building and property will be determined after an appraisal, the officials agreed.

Tondee explained that it will cost less to own the building than to lease it.

The county is earning about 1 percent interest on its investments and bank account funds, he said.

"For the lease, we're paying over 4 percent interest," he said.

PAC offered to sell the tri-level building and property at 400 Northwest Blvd. for only $1 more than the underlying lease at $424,035, in accordance with the organization's policies.

But the county is mandated to conduct appraisals of property before purchasing, Tondee said.

"We can't pay more than market value," he said.

He expects the value of the property to be around $700,000 or $800,000.

Tondee wasn't sure the size of property the building sits on.

Commissioner Jai Nelson also voted in favor of the purchase. Commissioner Dan Green was absent because he was attending another meeting.

Tondee acknowledged that the county is considering hiring a firm to create a long-term facilities plan, which could advise the county to move out of some buildings like the Defender's facility.

But he doesn't consider this purchase premature.

"I think the land is what's important, not the building," Tondee said.