As expected, the Inyo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to enter into an enclusive negotiating agreement with Joseph Enterprises for land to build county offices, a move County Administrator Kevin Carunchio said “wasn’t a huge step, but it’s the next step.”

Joesph plot

 The vote was 4-1, with Richard Cervantes dissenting.

 Carunchio said this means moving forward with two non-binding acts: Inyo County agrees to terminate negotiations regarding other parcels, and formalize what Inyo County space and office needs are. Carunchio stressed these are “non-binding.”

 Both have to be approved before a final transaction document can be drawn up. “We have a long way to go,” Carunchio said, noting the 60-day negotiating periods and possible 45-day extensions exist for both Term Sheet process and the Design process.

He said it could be six months to a year before anything finalized. “There are checkpoints along the way. This is one of them.”

Carunchio said he wants to schedule tours and public meetings on the issues.

He noted Inyo County has seven leases in Bishop. “We want to see if it makes sense – and dollars and cents – to have all our staff and services in one location. We want to design for the future, operate smarter, so people aren’t driving all over town to get to the right office.”

But Carunchio cautions it’s a big project.

“It’s an exciting thing, but w have to proceed with due diligence.”

Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading