Minutes 02-09-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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these buildings through a negotiated purchase and then sell the buildings independently, but keep the parking lots for public parking. He thinks that the buildings would sell quicker without the obligation of the parking lots. Commissioner Yuhasz made reference to the New Hope Church Road building and said that he has heard some concerns from some of the neighbors as to what the building might be used for. He suggested putting on some restrictions. Commissioner Nelson said that the County should proceed with putting the King Street building on the market at the same time as the other property. He is not interested in giving the property away. He wants to send this message to the Heritage Center representatives. He would be open to considering giving part of it if a grant became available for the Heritage Center. Frank Clifton said that there are some proposed uses for this New Hope site such as a day care center, etc. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the buildings that have already been put up for divestiture. Pam Jones said that the advertisements have been prepared. It will be brought back to the Board probably within 60 days with a response. Commissioner Yuhasz asked about the Homestead Center and John Roberts said that the closing was supposed to be today. Chair Foushee said that she supports divesting of these two properties (King Street and New Hope Church Road) and Commissioners Pelissier, Yuhasz, and Gordon agreed. The Board agreed to proceed with divestiture of these properties. Hillsborough Commons: Frank Clifton said that he has had Financial Services Director Clarence Grier do some analysis. The County has to close on Hillsborough Commons by February 2012 in order for the current agreement to be valid. He said that he made some recommendations in the abstract. Besides the fact that the County only has two years to put the financing in place, if the County chose to purchase this, there is a one-acre area that will not be conveyed. He said that he is talking to the Town about parking requirements. He said that the next issue is the timeframe to make a decision on this property. He said that the assessed valuation of the property is $7-8 million, and the purchase price is $15 million after deducting rents, etc. He said that the County has made the property more valuable because it is leasing space for a 15-year period. He said that a lot of the tenants are seeing a boost in their business as a result of the County being there. If the County buys this property and tries to evict tenants, then this could be a public relations nightmare. It would also decrease the amount of commercial development. In the meantime, he feels pretty confident that the County could make a case for a different purchase price. At the minimum, the lease could be extended and the County Commissioners can discuss the price in a closed session. The County will continue to get Medicaid reimbursements from the rentals. He thinks that there should be a revaluation of this property. Commissioner Nelson said that there was not really good consensus that the tax value was a good price a couple of years ago when the agreement was negotiated. It was confirmed that no appraisal had been done to support the cost of $15 million. He thinks that $15 million is a lot for this property. Frank Clifton said that he thinks the rental agreement is a good deal and it is a good idea to co-locate services in a shopping center area. Commissioner Hemminger said that she likes the lease situation and she does not see the urgency in buying this right now. She would like to see the appraisal figures first. She said that the County cannot take on more debt right now.