May 26, 2010 By Amy Revak 4 min read

The Fayette County commissioners Tuesday tabled a request by the U.S. Postal Service for a reduction in the rent it pays for a post office inside a building owned by the county. The commissioners tabled the request for a new lease that reduces the annual rent from $14,850 to $13,365 after discussing the issue at the agenda meeting.

The post office is located inside the former federal building in Uniontown. The current lease does not expire until Oct. 24, 2011.

Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink said in the proposal to reduce the rent for the new lease that a request also is made that after the next lease expires on Oct. 24, 2016, the rent would then revert to $14,850 annually, with no opportunity for any other increase.

Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites said when the rent amount was set for the post office, it was comparable to rent for similar square footage in the area. The office occupies 2,050 square feet.

Zimmerlink said prices normally go up, not down.

Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky said the post office doesn’t pay utilities at the site.

County manager Warren Hughes said the post office wanted the lease last month. He said the majority of people who use the site live at the adjacent Fayette Building apartments.

Vicites said he thinks the price that was set was fair and equitable, and rents in general are rising, not falling

Zapotosky said he wasn’t going to support the request, adding that he thinks the issue should remain up for discussion.

Hughes said the ball is in the county’s court, and the commissioners could exercise other options, such as making a counteroffer.

Zimmerlink said the post office needs to know what the county will do, adding that she doesn’t want to revisit the issue three to six months before the lease is up.

Vicites said the county needs extra space.

The building also includes the coroner’s office and county juvenile probation offices.

“We should keep it the same and be done with it. I think our price is fair,” Vicites said.

In an unrelated matter, the commissioners voted to place on the agenda motions to approve the county bridge department to construct a bridge for the next phase of the Browns Run Trail in German Township.

Grant money will be used to pay the cost of the labor and materials.

The commissioners voted to place a motion on Thursday’s agenda to submit a $30,000 technology grant through the Appalachian Regional Commission, with a 30 percent county match of $9,000.

The grant, if received, would be used to set up a grant management system to track all grants received in the county.

Zapotosky said it is an Internet-based software system and the county could defer cost by partnering with other entities that receive grant allocations, such as the county redevelopment authority, the county housing authority, Children and Youth Services and others.

“It also allows for transparency and is a good way for the public to view where their dollars are going,” Zapotosky said.

Zimmerlink said she would like to know if there would be additional costs for set-up, adding that the cost of it hasn’t been budgeted.

Vicites said the match would likely be covered by other agencies, adding that tracking of grant funding is needed.

The commissioners took no action on a request from the Wharton Township supervisors for the county to assume ownership and maintenance responsibilities for a bridge located on Mason-Dixon Road in the township.

Although Vicites said he believes the bridge was recently rehabilitated, Zimmerlink said input should be obtained from the head of the bridge department, Paul Nixon, before action is taken.

Zapotosky pointed out that the county previously took over a bridge in Washington Township.

While all three commissioners agreed that the Washington Township bridge had to be taken over by the county so it could be repaired and 16 families could get access to their homes, Vicites said this issue is totally different.

The county owns and maintains more than 60 bridges.