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The Wayne County Commission voted 15-0 Oct. 1 to approve a three-part transaction that will result in the sale of the RESA Annex building in Wayne to The Senior Alliance, with the county leasing back about 5,000 square feet for $1 annually.

The building is at 5454 S. Venoy Road, just north of Van Born Road, and is just east of the main building for the Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency, which is the intermediate school district that serves 33 public school districts and 108 charter schools covering almost all of Wayne County. The Wayne-based Senior Alliance, Area Agency 1-C, is a private, nonprofit agency that coordinates a network of services for qualifying senior and disabled residents of 34 Wayne County communities as part of the state's MI Choice Waiver Program.

Wayne County is purchasing RESA's interest in the building and land for $285,000, then selling it to The Senior Alliance for $900,000, with the closing to happen by Nov. 1. The county will lease 5,000 square feet for $1 annually for five years to house the Head Start administrative offices that will move out of the county-owned Kay Beard Building, 30712 Michigan Ave., Westland, where Head Start programming will remain.

The county also has the option in 2020 to extend the RESA Annex lease for $50,000 annually for five years. RESA has the option to lease space for its Early On program.

Wayne County Department of Environmental Services employees currently housed in the RESA Annex will move to the nearby Department of Health, Veterans & Community Wellness Building, formerly the Department of Public Health Building, at 33030 Van Born Road, Wayne.

As part of the $900,000 purchase, Wayne County is setting aside up to $60,000 for The Senior Alliance to use by May 1, 2016, for asbestos abatement as a match to what the agency will spend.

Earlier this year, the Commission unanimously approved a more-than $3 million, one-year agreement with The Senior Alliance in which the agency will run the county's Meals on Wheels program, which had been based at the Kay Beard Building but will move to the RESA Annex. The employees will transfer from the county to The Senior Alliance, which also pay for the drivers' mileage. The agreement is expected to save the county about $550,000 annually.

"Wayne County and The Senior Alliance have had a close relationship for many years," said Commissioner Tim Killeen, D-Detroit, who chairs the Commission's Committee on Health and Human Services. "The county has helped The Senior Alliance in the past, and now The Senior Alliance is helping the county during tough financial times. We really appreciate The Senior Alliance running the Meals on Wheels program. It's nice that the county can sell them the RESA Annex to help meet their needs. This will benefit both of us."