Rick, Scott and the Maguire Buildings Deal

Ahh, Scott Randolph.

There he goes again. Ineptitude, subterfuge, divisiveness. One can never run short of adjectives to describe Orange County’s mean and nasty Tax Collector, and he’s at it again.

Well known for blowing up the Orange County Democratic Party, with racial politics, cronyism and racial innuendo, Mr. Randolph is now practicing his craft in his latest slime ball tactics involving the Maguire buildings near Fashion Square Mall, the proposed new home for the Orange County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector administrative offices.

Mr. Randolph, several months ago, moved forward with a letter of intent on the Maguire buildings, and, without building inspection reports in hand, the Board of County Commissioners voted to go along with the proposal last March.  As it has turned out, with the completion of several inspection reports, it’s now known that the buildings would require significant renovation, estimated to cost $4 million, including roof replacement. Also, one should factor in delays which will likely entail even higher costs.

So, the County went ahead with negotiations to purchase the buildings on Maguire Boulevard at a cost of nearly $12 million, without properly undertaking its due diligence. Now it seems that they can’t back out of the deal. This means taxpayers could be on the hook for at least $16 million ($12 million + $4 million), if this deal goes through.

A few days ago, we understand the County staff recommended the Maguire buildings deal be called off, in light of the inspection reports. But, the saga doesn’t end there. In less than 24 hours, we hear that the deal is back on the table and the Board of County Commissioners will take up the matter on Tuesday.

Oh, by the way, what of Rick Singh?  Yes, that Rick Singh who heads the Property Appraiser’s Office?

Singh campaigned on moving the offices of the OCPA from the SunTrust building on south Orange Avenue, based on too high rental cost and lack of accessibility to tax payers. And he continues to maintain that the current location of OCPA is not suitable, despite the few who continue to mis-represent his position. But, he is also clear too, the buildings on Maguire Boulevard have several drawbacks and did propose a number of options, all of which were rejected.

Singh has said the downsides of the Maguire buildings include: inadequate security – there are several tenants in the buildings whose leases won’t expire for a few more years – and OCPA does handle sensitive taxpayer information; lack of proximity to other government departments with whom OCPA and taxpayers interact and traffic congestion, more so than on Orange Avenue. And keep in mind the holiday periods which will add to congestion in this area.

Seems like the buildings on Maguire Boulevard do have some pretty serious limitations regarding their suitability for new OCPA offices. Not so much for the Tax Collector’s administrative offices.  There’s the Orange County Tax Collector – Downtown Office on Rosalind Avenue, located in the Central Business District.

As all insiders already know, this is a bad deal for the County. So, here are a few key questions begging for answers:

• Why did Scott Randolph move forward on the Maguire buildings with his letter of intent and what’s really in it for him? Sneaky, shady side deals anyone?

• Why did Scott Randolph guarantee that the deal would be a good one even before a thorough investigation of the property was undertaken?

• Why did the County fail to do its proper due diligence before voting in agreement on the Maguire buildings?  Is there a secret deal at play here? Kickbacks maybe?

• Now that County staff has said that the Maguire buildings deal is not good for taxpayers, where does this leave the County?

• Will the County be forced to move ahead with purchasing the Maguire buildings because negotiations are too far gone, even though the deal is no good? And if so, what will it really cost taxpayers?

• Why are Rick Singh and the needs of taxpayers being ignored?

• Why is Rick Singh not being consulted and shouldn’t the advice of the Property Appraiser count for something? Is it because he is the wrong color?

• Why is Rick Singh being tarnished by Scott Randolph’s petty little blogger pals, when his positions on the lack of suitability of the OCPA’s office and the Maguire buildings have been consistent all along?