Amador County – A deal between Amador County and Immanuel Lutheran Church will put to use the old county courthouse in Jackson, which has remained locked and empty since the county moved its base of government operations three years ago to Court Street.

The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously authorized the church to lease the 2,122 square foot building and adjacent parking lot area located at 42 Summit Street in Jackson. Rent will be $1,300 a month.

Immanuel Lutheran was the only interested entity that complied with Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) law, which provides exceptions for some religious and private clubs. This allows the county to rent out the building without updating it to be compliant with current law.

General Services Director Jon Hopkins called the exemption “particularly unusual” but fortunate considering the county will not have to provide any money for building upgrades.

Supervisor John Plasse asked County Counsel Martha Shaver why an article is included in the lease agreement that allows the church the option of leasing out part of the property with the county’s prior written consent. He questioned why the church would be allowed to sublease at all.

Shaver said the group could assumably sublet to another agency that meets ADA requirements. “If you don’t allow assignment in subletting conditioned upon reasonable consent, then your ability to exercise your remedies for past due rent are limited,” she said. In other words, she said, a tenant who can sublet without official authorization from the county can get out of their obligation for rent due.

Supervisor Richard Forster asked if the county would be responsible “if someone falls down and breaks their arm” on the property, or some similar circumstance. Shaver said the church is required to indemnify the county for anything related to their activities on the premise.

The Board made a call for oral bids before accepting the written proposal from Immanuel Lutheran. Seeing none, they voted unanimously to approve the resolution of Immanuel Lutheran as the winning bid.

The lease was set to have begun October 1st for a two year agreement.

Supervisors Ted Novelli and Louis Boitano were absent from the meeting.

Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.