City of Bandon---Expanding Government Cheese

11/22/2013

CHEESE FACTORY WILL BE EXPANDING

At their special meeting on November 18th, the City Council unanimously approved a lease with Face Rock Creamery for the existing 1,200 sq.ft. warehouse building west and south of the cheese factory which is currently being used by the Electric Department for materials and equipment storage. The cheese factory will be installing insulation and sheet rock on the inside, and some refrigeration units to use it as a cheese aging and storage facility. Certain cheeses must age for several months to several years at a temperature of 430 F to increase their sharpness and improve other qualities. Face Rock Creamery has indicated that their ultimate goal would be to eventually purchase enough property to construct new offices and additional storage. However, they need some additional storage space immediately due to the large number of orders they are anticipating. Face Rock Creamery currently employs 17 individuals (some full-time and some part-time), and they estimate that this number could double if their on-site, export, and internet sales increase as projected. Without leasing the additional storage from the City, their other options would have been to rent some refrigerated trailers or rent or construct a building someplace else.

The lease is for an initial term of three years at $600 ($.50/sq.ft) per month for the first year, increasing to $750 per month for the second year, and $1,000 per month for the third year. Face Rock Creamery is hopeful that within a year they would be able to negotiate a price with the City for purchasing additional property at the existing City Shop property so they could construct a larger building for cheese storage, shipping, packaging, and offices. The new lease can be canceled by Face Rock Creamery with 90 days advance notice. In the event of such a cancellation without mutual agreement, the City would retain ownership of the building improvements and refrigeration equipment.

Regarding the City’s use of the building and property, the plan is to relocate all of the City Shop operations to the new City Shop site southwest of the 11th Street and Rosa Road intersection. This will move the emergency vehicle, equipment, and materials storage out of the 100 year flood plain and make them much less susceptible tsunami inundation. The storage which is currently located in the warehouse building will be relocated to other parts of the existing building and to the transformer building which has already been constructed at that new location. The most critical use in the building is the “hot stick” room where the equipment and for working on live (“hot”) electric transmission lines is kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. As part of the new City Shop relocation process, the Electric Department has determined that the preferred alternative would be to purchase a “hot stick” trailer. Such a trailer has been ordered, and is preferable to a fixed location, since it will allow all of the equipment to be immediately hauled and available at any work site.

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