Albion won’t seek about $2,000 in arrears from Ministry of Concern

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 22 February 2024 at 11:53 am

ALBION – The Albion Village Board won’t seek about $2,000 from the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern in late payments for rent.

The board approved a higher rate for GOMOC to start on Oct. 1. The rent for the third floor space at the Albion Visitor’s Center went from $1,146.67 to $1,550.96 a month, which includes utilities.

Jami Allport, the GOMOC director, last week asked the board for a smaller rent increase, perhaps 2 or 4 percent. She said the 35 percent increase was too high and would likely force the agency to find another place.

The board in a 3-1 vote kept the rent at the $1,550.96 amount. However, the board agreed to not start the higher cost until March 1. The board won’t seek about $2,000 owed over the five months in the higher rate.

GOMOC never signed the lease at the higher rate so the board believed it could give them a break.

“I think that was beautiful of them and we really appreciate that,” Allport said today about the reprieve.

She said she and the board of directors are considering the lease at the higher rate. The village would like GOMOC to commit to a year with the lease, from March 1 to Feb. 28.

Allport said the agency has other options, and could put its office in another community in Genesee or Orleans counties.

“People have been contacting us,” she said. “We are looking at other options. We’re keeping our eyes open.”

She would prefer to stay in Albion. She said Orleans residents account for more than double the people from Genesee that are served by the agency.

“We’d like to stay in the Village of Albion but we don’t have to,” she said. “The need is great here.”

The Ministry of Concern uses 2,386 square feet on the third floor of the building at 121 North Main St. GOMOC was previously paying 48 cents a square foot. With the new rate at $1,550.96, the square footage is 65 cents a month.

That is below the $1.65 a foot paid by Assemblyman Steve Hawley for 860 square feet on the first floor ($1,416.77 total); $1.30 by the Orleans Economic Development Agency for 1,686 square feet on the second floor ($2,196.06 total); and the $1.40 a foot for Darlene Benton of Paradise Healing Arts, who uses 289 square feet for $405 a month.