T
he Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a $32 million proposal to purchase two buildings near the county airport, part of a larger plan to address the county's need for new government office space. The buildings at 3850 and 3880 Brickway Blvd. would house several departments, including Registrar of Voters, Clerk-Recorder-Assessor, Auditor-Controller-Tax Collector, and Permit Sonoma.

    The proposal is estimated to cost $434 million in total, with the county planning to use either $72.9 million in savings from deferred maintenance or a bonding mechanism for funding. The purchase would allow the county to relocate employees currently housed on its 1950s-era campus, which faces issues such as seismic concerns and leaky roofs.

    County officials have tied the Brickway Boulevard buildings to preexisting plans to renovate the main county campus off Administration Drive. However, the proposed purchase of a third building at 400 Aviation Boulevard is still tangled up in pay-to-play allegations made by the county's largest employee union, which has prompted an investigation by the state's campaign finance watchdog agency.

    The county's public infrastructure director, Johannes Hoevertsz, emphasized that securing the Brickway buildings is crucial to moving forward with the larger plan. The board will vote on Tuesday to authorize staff to issue a notice of intent to buy the Brickway Boulevard buildings, but the discussion will not include the proposed purchase of the Aviation Boulevard building.

    The county estimates it will need an additional $15 million for improvements to make the Brickway buildings suitable for the relocated departments. The funding sources proposed for this project are the same as those for the Aviation Boulevard purchase: either using savings from deferred maintenance or a bonding mechanism.