Aurora residents who live north of Colfax won’t be losing their county motor vehicle office — at least not this year.
Adams County officials sent a letter to Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan last week saying the county had extended the lease on the county motor vehicle office on Chambers Road.
“We are pleased we were able to renegotiate the lease and continue to provide motor vehicle services to Adams County residents within the city limits of Aurora,” county commissioners wrote in the April 17 letter.
Late last year, the future of the only Department of Motor Vehicles office and vote center on the Adams County side of Aurora looked bleak when commissioners voted not to renew the county’s lease.
The decision raised questions about where the more than 40,000 Aurora residents who live north of East Colfax Avenue would vote in the presidential election and renew their license plates.
County officials said at the time that commissioners opted not to renew the lease at the office, 3449 Chambers Road, because of the uncertain status of the building, which is in receivership.
According to county records, the property, valued at $1.7 million, is owned by Kane (Commerce II) INC., of Calgary, Alberta.
Ruth Kedzior, assistant Adams County administrator, said in an e-mail this week that the county signed a short term lease with the understanding that the property will likely have a new owner.
Had the county not renewed the lease beyond May 31, the county would have saved about $100,000 in lease payments. Instead, the county will pay about $3,900 each month in rent payments through the end of May 2013.
In their letter, commissioners said they are also looking at combining some county facilities in Aurora to shore up the long-term presence of county offices in Aurora.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said he was pleased to hear that the facility would stay open for at least another year. While Aurora makes up only a small percentage of Adams County, Hogan said county services are still important for the county’s residents who call Aurora home.
Hogan said he hopes the county can find a way to keep the facility open beyond next year, whether that means that particular office or a different facility that houses multiple county departments.
“Certainly we can’t be going through this every couple years every time the lease runs out,” he said.
City and county officials are scheduled to meet in May and Hogan said the DMV office will likely be a topic of conversation.
The decision to ditch the Aurora facility last year exposed a rift between Aurora and Adams County in part because it came on the heels of commissioners’ decision last fall to drastically cut the number of municipal court inmates housed at the Adams County Jail.
In light of those two decisions, Aurora City Council again delved into the long-discussed notion of making Aurora a city and county.
Aurora City Councilwoman Renie Peterson, who represents much of the Adams County section of Aurora, did not return calls seeking comment.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com