State Admin Dept. wants a shot at bidding on an office building near the Capitol, after getting shut out of 2 others

Idaho’s state Department of Administration had its eye on three properties near the Capitol Mall that the state Land Board decided to auction off last year as part of a shift in its endowment investment strategy, as possible office space for state agencies, but despite Director Bob Geddes’ concern, two were auctioned off last fall, before the department had a chance to ask state lawmakers for an appropriation to allow it to bid. A third, a former bank building at 6 ^th and Washington streets that’s across from two state parking garages, was set aside and not auctioned, to allow other options to be explored – including possibly a land exchange to make it part of the state Capitol endowment and keep it in state ownership.

In the budget request for the Admin Department for next year, Gov. Butch Otter is recommending approval for Geddes’ request for a $1 million appropriation to enable the department to bid if the property goes on the auction block next year. It’s adjacent to the Capitol Mall state office complex that includes the state Capitol. “Agencies in the mall are bursting at the seams,” Geddes told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this morning. “This year, we have an opportunity to acquire an additional facility adjacent to the mall which will accommodate some of the space needs our tenants demand.”

Geddes has been eying the former bank building as a spot for the state Division of Purchasing, which currently is located in the basement of the Len B. Jordan building. “That’s not a convenient location for those who work with our Division of Purchasing to access,” Geddes said. “They need a more visible location.” The single-story brick building has 4,800 square feet of office space plus 31 parking spaces. “In the event that the Department of Lands auctions off the facility in fiscal year ‘18, we want to be in a position to bid on it,” Geddes told JFAC.

The other two properties he’d hoped the state would keep were the former Home Federal Bank building kitty-corner across from the Capitol at Eighth and State streets, and Central Washington Place, the office complex on Washington Street that currently houses the offices of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. But both those were auctioned off and the state wasn’t able to bid. Last fall, before the auction , Geddes warned, “We’ll wish someday that those properties would have remained in some way or another in state ownership.”

Now, Geddes said, “our puzzle at the moment” is figuring out a new home for the state Tax Commission, which is located in rented space in a ParkCenter Boulevard office tower that’s being sold.

This past fall, the state put nine commercial properties owned by the state endowment on the auction block; seven of them sold. Most were in the Boise area, including Affordable Storage and several properties near the Capitol; the two that didn’t draw bids were in Idaho Falls.

Overall, the budget request for the Department of Administration for next year reflects just a 0.4 percent increase in state general funds, but an 8 percent increase in total funds. The $1 million appropriation would come from dedicated funds within the department, as would most of the department’s other, smaller recommended increases, including for additional training for all state employees involved in purchasing, as recommended by an interim legislative committee; and funding for an additional IT security analyst. State general funds would cover a $515,000 upgrade to the state’s computer firewall capacity, to protect against cyber-attacks. The department oversees everything from purchasing and facilities management to group insurance and employee benefits, administrative rules, construction management, leasing and information technology. Its dedicated funds largely come from fees paid to the department by other state agencies for services it provides, from IT to insurance.