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The county must either install fire sprinklers at the aging Lawrence K. Roos administration building to comply with Clayton’s city code or find a new home by 2028.

But the County Council hasn’t picked a solution, and now there might not be enough time to renovate the building or build a new one, Page wrote in a letter the council will consider at its Tuesday meeting.

“The deadline for renovating or moving out of the Roos building is moving ever closer, putting ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County in jeopardy of violating fire safety codes,â€� Page wrote. “No action is not an option.â€�

Page asked the council to approve nearly $2.7 million to hire a real estate brokerage firm that would help the county find and lease space for its administrative and customer service offices — operations that may happen anywhere in the county.

The firm would also find a place for County Council meetings, which must take place in Clayton, according to county law.

The county’s contractors and officials from the Department of Transportation and Public Works are worried the county is running out of time, even to find space to lease, said Page spokesman Doug Moore.

The $2.7 million would not pay for building out or renovating any leased space, according to Page’s letter. But a brokerage firm would help the county figure out how much a lease might cost.

The request might meet an impasse at the council.

Council Chair Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from unincorporated North County, said Monday she’s unwilling to move forward on a lease unless Page releases long-delayed pandemic relief aid for several nonprofits serving ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County residents. The county executive has said his office can’t administer those funds unless the council reverses budget cuts it made last year.

“Until you can make good to the promises of the people of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County, who have trusted and believed in you, I don’t have the capacity to do anything else,â€� Webb said.

Webb instead suggested on Monday to pay the nonprofits. That could bypass Page’s office and provide unrestricted payments to the nonprofits, she said. If the council approves that idea, Webb said, she would consider moving forward with the headquarters project, dubbed Project Cornerstone.

Meanwhile, Democratic Councilwoman Lisa Clancy of Maplewood on Monday requested a resolution calling for a new, “state-of-the-art� county and police headquarters.

County residents visit the 10-story Roos building at 41 South Central Avenue to pay taxes and get marriage licenses, among other services.

The county already leases space for two satellite service centers, in the former Northwest Plaza in St. Ann and off Lemay Ferry Road in South County.

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County has been aware for years it needs a new or renovated building.

In 2016, the city of Clayton updated its fire codes to require all high-rises be retrofitted with sprinklers by Jan. 1, 2028. Noncompliant building owners could be fined up to $1,000 a day and get hit with higher insurance rates.

The county began exploring ideas in 2019. But it wasn’t until last year that Page’s administration and the council considered concrete steps.

Last June, the county’s contractors from WSP Global Inc. presented a range of options to the council and urged it to act quickly because any project would be a major undertaking. But the council didn’t take up the issue until last month when Page’s office asked councilmembers to advance the project.

Options range from $276 million for renovations at the existing building to $612 million for a new county building, a new mid-county satellite office and a renovated police headquarters in downtown Clayton. The contractors suggested paying for them by a property tax increase over 20 years, which would require voter approval.

WSP estimated the least-expensive option would cost the owner of a $255,000 house about $3 a month on property taxes; the most-expensive would cost $8.