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 White Plains, NY - County lawmakers approved in a 12-4 vote a bond act in the amount of $5 million to purchase 450 Saw Mill River Road, an 85,000-square-foot building on 5.37 acres in Ardsley.
Legislators also approved a separate bond act for $7 million to refurbish the site to a climate controlled environment suitable to storing the approximately 1,600 electronic voting machines, related equipment and ballots that the county will soon take ownership of to comply with federal and state law.
The county’s Board of Elections is under mandate to consolidate all of its electoral functions at the county level, including ownership, care, custody and control of voting machines, as part of the federal Help America to Vote Act (HAVA).
“This property offers the lowest cost per square foot of all the properties considered and is our best option,” said Alvarado, Chair of the Budget & Appropriations Committee that along with the Government Operations Committee conducted an exhaustive review of all the site options. “The purchase of this particular site has become even more attractive due to a reduction in the purchase price and the administration’s plan to use some of the space for the administrative headquarters for the Department of Public Safety. Moving the headquarters to the Saw Mill River site will eliminate the need to build a new $9.5 million headquarters that is currently in the county’s capital plan.”
“We’re out of time and we have a pressing decision to make. This site is simply the most prudent deal for Westchester taxpayers,” said County Legislator Ken Jenkins, Chair of the GO Committee. “It would be unfair to say we have not thoroughly investigated all options. We spent two years vetting options. We asked for and completed an RFP process that extended the invitation to any possible bidder in the county who wanted to propose a suitable property. There is significant concern from the state Board of Elections that we don’t have a facility in place. We are bound to act responsibly and comply with the law and this purchase fulfills that obligation. Incidentally, all cost benefit analysis aside, it makes sense to have such a heavy Public Safety presence on the site of a storage facility that must be secured to the highest degree possible.”
Former B&A Committee Chair Michael Kaplowitz (D-IN-WF, Somers) said finding an appropriate HAVA site started during his tenure. The planned dual function for 450 Saw Mill is what he considers a good example of what he terms “double duty” dollars.
“Clearly, it’s in best interest of our taxpayers to own, rather than rent. It’s also in taxpayers’ interest to buy one building instead of two. 450 Saw Mill River Road’s value rises by virtue of the fact that it will fulfill two pressing needs of the county for space. By not having to spend $9 million to build a separate Public Safety Headquarters, taxpayers net a $750,000 annual savings in debt service,” Kaplowitz said.
Legislators also authorized the county to enter into one or more intermunicipal agreements with the Ardsley Union Free School District whereby the county will commit to expending up to $1 million in capital funding on mutually agreed to projects that will serve a valid county purpose but also have an ancillary benefit to the school district.
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