Travis County Commssioners Court
April 27, 2004
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Item 37
Let's pick up 37. It is to consider and take appropriate action on request for payment to Austin-Travis County mental health and mental retardation for rental of space at 56 east avenue, Austin, Texas, that has been used by Travis County sheriff's office, crisis intervention unit. And last week we had some specific questions that we were hoping to get answers to.
>> yes, sir. I'm with the Travis County sheriff's office. Members of the court, this may be a real quick punt to joan connelly in response to some of those questions. They certainly have a legal flavor to them. So unless he's going to object, i'll let him jump in.
>> I'm been eelectricked, judge, to be the spokesman here. The court had some questions last week and we gathered some additional information and documents and are prepared to present that to you today. However, if you would prefer that we submit this to you in writing as backup so that you would have a chance to preview it before our meeting, we'd be happy to do that. There's no time sensitivity to this item that requires this to be heard today, but we are prepared to give you that information today, and hopefully it would answer the questions that you had.
>> do we need a claim from Austin-Travis County mhmr?
>> I think we have what we need. Between this week and last week they submitted a letter that details the rent that they are requesting from us, and it included all of the invoices that they had submitted in the past, and it lays out exactly what they expect and what they want. So I don't think we need anything other than what we've gotten already, judge. And I have copies of that if you would like to see it.
>> is this a quantum merit claim?
>> it could come to the court as that claim, or there are other legal ways that the court could pay it. And I had intended and would recommend that the court receive advice of counsel in executive session with regard to your rights and responsibilities and how you might handle it. It's not necessary that it come as a quantum merit claim, but that is one way that the court could deal with it.
>> do we have the facts right now?
>> I prefer seeing it in writing.
>> I do too?
>> that could take away 98% of my questions.
>> you've taken away my question. [ laughter ]
>> let's get it in writing.
>> could you limit it to a page or two, the basis of the claim? The other question would be if their claim is true, if in fact they say we use space from blank to blank, and we did, then somebody from the county needs to say that. And I guess since the sheriff's office has been using it, the intervention and crisis intervention team, then just a confirmation of that would help.
>> we also note that the city of Austin paid for its piece that was related to a.p.d.?
>> Commissioner, I understand it that they did. The exact dollar amount I am not privy to, nor do I have the documentation behind that, at least from verbal confirmation from both Austin-Travis County mhmr and the crisis intervention supervisor that they have settled the amount that was levied against them by Austin-Travis County mhmr.
>> that's my understanding as well, that judge herman has talked to mhmr and confirmed that, yes, they did pay their share of the rental cost on this space for the period in question.
>> well, that was one of the things that would be helpful to see this in writing is that there was an original grant which run over a bit. And normally when we do rollovers of grants, it's done with no fiscal impact. So it was basically they agreed to do it during one year, it went 14 months, then that's still part of the 12 months related to the rent. So the question is what is beyond the scope of the grant and that would be helpful to see everything in writing as opposed to, well, you just were in there and we thought you would be there for 12 and it turns out to be something else. That is not the basis of a claim to us. It has to be tied in fact to what was grant approved, even if it was a rollover piece of the grant for a couple of months, and then what is the differential? It's the differential that we need to get down on a piece of paper as to what it is.
>> and not only does mr. Connelly have that documentation.
>> we'll have it back on next week.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 9:46 AM