Board OKs $202,500 offer for Newark school
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Newark Elementary School
ORFORDVILLE — The Parkview School Board voted 4-0 Wednesday night to approve a counteroffer to sell Newark Elementary School for $202,500 plus closing costs to a farmer who wants to turn the rural school into an assisted living facility.
The board awarded the winning bid to Paul Britton of the town of Avon after a closed session discussion to consider offers from three bidders.
District residents must approve the sale in a vote that will be held during the annual meeting Aug. 20. Voters can only approve the sale, not alter terms or conditions of the sale, Superintendent Steve Lutzke said.
Sale of the 17,700-square-foot school at 11247 Merlet Road includes 6 acres of land.
The decision came after a different bidder filed a written protest to the district over the bidding process. The district requested written bids be submitted by 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The written bids were:
-- Britton at $145,000. The offer also stated he would be willing to bid $1,500 more than the next highest offer up to $205,000.
-- BBM of Beloit at $150,000.
-- Pleasant View Mennonite Church of the town of Newark at $140,000.
Mike Draeving of BBM addressed the board before it went into closed session. He said he was told his bid was the highest after submitting it on time. After the deadline, the district started taking verbal counteroffers over the phone, he said, and the letter he received about the bid process didn't say anything about actions happening after the deadline.
Draeving told the board it should accept his offer as the highest and consider if the process was done fairly, properly and ethically. He told a reporter during the closed session he might take legal action over the bid process. He declined to comment after the meeting.
The district worked with its lawyers to set a process and inform bidders they could alter their bid if they weren't the highest, Lutzke said after the meeting. After Tuesday's deadline, bidders made counteroffers by phone, and Lutzke decided to have all bidders meet at noon Wednesday.
The highest bid at the start of the meeting was Pleasant View at $170,000, Lutzke said. The other two bidders had two minutes to counter. Draeving did not participate. The other two bidders exchanged counteroffers until Britton won at $202,500.
"I think our process was transparent and clear," he said.
There was a "snafu" with Draeving getting the wrong letter, but the letter he received didn't say the high offer would be approved or accepted, Lutzke said. Another version of the letter said the board may consider accepting alternate bids, but it didn't say whether the board would do so.
"I regret that he was frustrated with the process," Lutzke said. "We didn't do anything wrong. We didn't deceive him in any way."
The board approved a plan at its July 16 meeting to list the elementary school for $135,000 after reviewing an appraisal the board ordered in May. Britton made an offer at the meeting to buy the school at the district's asking price.
The Newark Town Board had been exploring what actions it could take to slow the sale after residents unhappy with the closure sought help from the board, said board Supervisor Don Davis.
A lot of residents are unhappy the school is closing and have many unanswered questions, he said. Town board members talked with their attorney and discovered the board could not take legal action against the district.
"They (town residents) would just like to see some justification as to why this is happening," he said.
Board members Troy Knudson and Chuck Hagmann were absent from Wednesday's meeting. Board member Terry Gerber took part in the closed session but had to leave before the vote.
The one-hallway school was dedicated in November 1959. The district closed the school due to declining enrollment and budget cuts after classes ended in June. Former students at the school will be consolidated into schools in Footville and Orfordville.
Jul 28, 2012 at 11:12 a.m.
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Selling a property in this economy
is a cause for celebration.
Jul 27, 2012 at 5:15 p.m.
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intrigued: Um, read what you wrote and maybe that will help answer your question. How often do you see property immediately sell for 50% more of what is was assessed at?
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justoneof: Why do you feel the need to keep telling people to "let it go"? Why should we turn a blind eye to it? You make it seem as if there is something you don't want people to discover.
Jul 27, 2012 at 1:53 p.m.
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justoneof...been there....done that.....aint doing it again!
Jul 27, 2012 at 1:40 p.m.
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i was there...let it go. put your name an a ballot..then you can have all the facts...
Jul 27, 2012 at 1:36 p.m.
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justoneof.....read the article!
Jul 27, 2012 at 1:14 p.m.
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if mr draeving thought from the start that it was wrong then why did he also offer some counter bids, if as he said he had already had the winning bid.
if you were able to sell a proerty for more that what you asked for it then why not sell. after the school was closed why not then get it appraised and list it for sale rather than sit on it for years. it is not a rush job, it is about doing what is right for the district.
i dont think anybody ever told mr draeving that he had the winning bid.
Jul 27, 2012 at 12:45 p.m.
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Um, it didn't sell for $135,000, it sold for $202,500. So what's your concern about the $135,000 assessment?
Jul 27, 2012 at 10:11 a.m.
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jstwndrn...I agree!!! Back room politics at its best!
Jul 27, 2012 at 10:07 a.m.
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Thanks for the advice about letting go, justoneof, but I beg to differ with you. Yes, there WAS a, quote "sanfu" unquote.
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No, $135,000 for that property is not a "good price".
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And I absolutely do not have a problem with it not being a school anymore and/or being sold. That's not what this is about. So, you don't need to steer it in that direction, at least as far as I'm concerned.
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It's about not even trying to get the premium price out of a decent property, it's about rushing to sell it in a hurry AND to someone who seemed to be privy to info others were not, and it's further about questionable events then taking place as things progressed and other folks got involved in the bidding process.
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justoneof, I'm with you on selling being a good idea, it's just the way this whole thing is coming down that's questionable and, frankly, looks quite amateurish and less than prudent and savvy...at best.
Jul 27, 2012 at 10:05 a.m.
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Hey,
If all you folks don't like it...go vote the sale down...
It has to be approved by a vote of the district.
Jul 27, 2012 at 9:59 a.m.
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justoneof....why doesnt the board ask for another 50 grand and let britton buy footville elementary too!!!
Jul 27, 2012 at 9:48 a.m.
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justoneof...glad it is going to sell...just think something is weird with the sale....why did one person get a different letter than the others? Snafu was the word used by Lutzke!!
Jul 27, 2012 at 8:23 a.m.
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you need to let it go. newark school has closed. it will not reopen, mr draeving was not going to start a new school. there was no snafu. the asking price was a very good price. some asked at the meeting why the rush to sell, we are selling because it is the right thing to do. if it didnt sell then everybody from newark would have said " see we knew it would never sell"
Jul 27, 2012 at 8:12 a.m.
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Although I think the idea of a living facility is a good one, it seems that this selling process has had a bit of an odd odor to it from the get-go. The original assessment of $135,000 for what has been described as a very decent building and 6 acres seems more than a little low, even in this economy/market. Then Mr. Britton seems to have had an inside line throughout the process, showing up at a meeting to supposedly catch everyone by "surprise" with his offer. And now, there are indiscretions with the bidding process, "snafu" mailings of different letters, a deadline that serves no purpose, and surprise, surprise again, Mr. Britton has the winning bid.
Jul 27, 2012 at 8:09 a.m.
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"SNAFU" with the letter!?!?!?! What the heck is the board thinking? I think the board was scared of what Draeving was going to do with the building... like maybe start a new grade school???? looks pretty shadey! I hope he sues!
Jul 27, 2012 at 7:43 a.m.
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Dear Orfordville: We closed two "rural" schools in the 80's and sold one. Big surprise about all that land growth between us and Janesville, all on our side of the line...which was where both of those schools were located. Johnstown may have been useful to us, but alas... Just pointing that out. Good luck! Love, Milton
Jul 26, 2012 at 10:39 p.m.
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This is a good thing, and will be an asset to this fine community.
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