REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
February 25, 2025
FROM
TERRY W. THOMPSON, Director, Real Estate Services Department
JASON ANDERSON, District Attorney
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Lease of Office Space and Budget Adjustments
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Find that approval of Amendment No. 1 to Lease Agreement No. 23-108 with San Bernardino Community College District is an exempt project under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15301 - Existing Facilities (Class 1).
2. Approve Amendment No. 1 to Lease Agreement No. 23-108 with San Bernardino Community College District, for completion of tenant improvements at 560 E Hospitality Lane, 3rd Floor, San Bernardino, increasing the total lease amount by $351,011, from $8,079,288 to $8,430,299.
3. Direct the Real Estate Services Department to file the Notice of Exemption in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
4. Approve a budget adjustment in the amount of $351,011 from Salaries and Benefits to Structures and Improvement to Structures to pay for tenant improvements of leased office space located at the 3rd floor of 560 E Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino.
5. Approve a budget adjustment of $655,000 from Salaries and Benefits to Services and Supplies Transfers Out to reimburse County Real Estate Services for payment of monthly rent expenses of leased office space located at the 3rd floor and 4th floor (Suite 450) of 560 E Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino.
6. Authorize the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post the necessary budget adjustments to the District Attorney’s 2024-25 budget, as detailed in the Financial Impact Section (Four votes required).
(Presenter: Michael Fermin, Chief Assistant District Attorney, 382-3662)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The District Attorney (Department) requests to transfer salary savings to pay the costs of tenant improvements and reimburse the Real Estate Services Department (RESD) for rent for the remainder of 2024-25 for the facility located at 560 E Hospitality Lane, 3rd floor and Suite 450 on the 4th floor. Rent reimbursements for the remainder of 2024-25 are estimated at $655,000 and the one-time cost of tenant improvements for 3rd floor are $351,011 and both will be paid with the Department’s salary savings.
Ongoing rent costs will be included in the Department’s 2025-26 Recommended Budget and future recommended budgets. The table below shows the requested budget adjustments.
|
Fund Center |
Commitment Item |
Description |
Action |
Amount |
|
4500001000 |
51001010 |
Regular Salaries |
Decrease |
$351,011 |
|
4500001000 |
54304030 |
Structures and Improvement to Structures |
Increase |
$351,011 |
|
4500001000 |
51001010 |
Regular Salaries |
Decrease |
$655,000 |
|
4500001000 |
55405012 |
Services and Supplies Transfers Out |
Increase |
$655,000 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department is the public prosecutor and has the mandated responsibility to prosecute crimes committed within the county, including city jurisdictions, pursuant to Government Code 26500. To carry out this mandate, the Department has at least one office in each region of the County and occupies office space inside of the Superior Court in most regions of the County. The Department has grown over the years and in 2022, reached the limit of office space capacity at its main office at 303 West 3rd Street in San Bernardino. In addition, in the summer of 2022, a lease of office space at 255 North D Street in San Bernardino for the Victim Claims Unit expired and went into holdover status. The Department did not have room to move the staff into its main office.
In the spring of 2022, the Department toured several buildings close to the Courthouse that were available for lease. All of the options required significant renovations to be in compliance with County policy 12-11 SP1 as well as meeting the Department’s operational needs. RESD found suitable office space at 560 E Hospitality Lane, San Bernardino, 3rd floor. Renovations were required to ensure efficiency of office space to house the most amount of staff, a business center with file storage, intern workspaces, sufficient lighting for interior work areas, sound proofing for conference rooms, a large training room, collaborative workspace, and breakrooms.
On January 24, 2023 (Item No. 45), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved a temporary one-year lease from February 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024 for office space at 560 E Hospitality Lane, 4th floor Suite 450, to alleviate crowding at the Department’s main office. The space accommodated approximately 15 staff during renovations of the 3rd floor.
On February 28, 2023 (Item No. 59), the Board approved a 10-year lease of 3rd floor office space, with a portion of tenant improvement costs amortized over the term of the lease and the Department being responsible for the remaining balance of $351,011 as a one-time cost. Renovations were completed in December 2023 and staff moved to the 3rd floor in January 2024.
After staff moved into 3rd floor, the temporary lease of 4th floor Suite 450 transitioned to hold-over status. To further reduce overcrowding at the main San Bernardino office, the Department moved its new Homicide Division to Suite 450, which included positions approved by the Board on June 13, 2023 (Item No. 99) by the Board in the 2023-24 Budget. The Department is still in hold-over status for Suite 450 and is working with RESD to determine options to add workspace.
During the County’s annual budget development for 2024-25, the Department’s budget did not include reimbursements to RESD for the annual cost of rent. The Department also needs to pay the remaining balance of tenant improvements for the 3rd floor lease.
The Department requests approval of the budget adjustments to ensure reimbursements of rent payments are made timely as well as approval of the lease amendment for the payment of the one-time cost of tenant improvements associated with the lease of the 3rd floor.
The project to approve the Lease Amendment was reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act 15301 (CEQA), Existing Facilities (Class I), and determined to be categorically exempt.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniella Hernandez, Deputy County Counsel and John Tubbs II, Deputy County Counsel) on February 6, 2025; Real Estate Services (Lyle Ballard, Real Property Manager, 453-5227) on February 6, 2025; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Mima Ugbo, Auditor-Controller Manager, 382-3035) on February 7, 2025; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) on February 11, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 11, 2025.