Image 1 / 2
In her final meeting, council member Donna Blake presented an offer from Houchens to the city to buy the piece of land that currently houses the town's maintenance garage for $60,000 - thanks to some help from the Adairville/South Logan Chamber of Commerce.
“I cannot believe we would not be open to this offer,” Blake said.
Originally, the council asked for over $100,000 for the piece of property, but Houchens came forward with an offer of $45,000.
The council voted against that offer and countered with a price of $60,000. Houchens turned that offer down and told city representatives that it would not offer more than $45,000.
The council voted a second time for the $45,000 price and was split with Blake, Nannette King and Judy Tanner voting yes. Tracy Gunderson, Marla Sircy and Danny Finch voted no.
Mayor Jim Wilkerson did not participate because Houchens was in negotiations for a piece of land he owns as well.
After tabling the issue earlier this month, a third vote was taken Friday night at a special called meeting.
Blake presented a contract from Houchens Industries for $60,000.
The Chamber of Commerce got two other property holders who will also be selling to Houchens to drop their asking price by $5,000 each and chipped in an additional $5,000 to make up the difference Houchens was unwilling to pay.
“I don't feel like (Chamber president) Dick (Dickerson) has done anything wrong,” Blake said. “The primary role of the Chamber is to promote business.”
Even with the $60,000 contract on the table, it wasn't an easy vote for the council.
Sircy, who served as the liaison between the city and Houchens Industries, said she didn't appreciate being left out of the loop while the Chamber was negotiating the price for the city's land with Houchens.
“I did agree to the $60,000 originally,” Sircy said. “I felt pushed when we took that vote, though and I have regretted it ever since.”
Both Finch and Gunderson appeared to be against the sale as well.
“I don't have anything against Houchens - I even have family members who would love to see us get a Subway,” Gunderson said. “I just don't think we should sell to them at that price.”
Finch had said in previous council meetings that he would be willing to sell to Houchens for $60,000, but he balked when he found out that the Chamber of Commerce was paying $5,000 to Houchens as part of the price.
Despite arguing against the sale for most of the meeting, Finch voted yes along with Blake, King and Tanner when the vote was taken. Sircy and Gunderson both voted against the sale.
“This will keep people from losing their jobs,” Finch said. “I basically voted for it so that the people that have jobs here can keep them.”
Houchens currently operates the IGA grocery store on the town square and will continue to employ those currently working there when the new Crossroads store opens.
Finch said, despite being an officer in the Chamber of Commerce, he was kept in the dark about its involvement and would have had a much easier time voting yes if he had known what was going on.
Dickerson said Houchens plans on beginning construction on the new store in March.
“I'm real thrilled that we were able to pull this together,” Dickerson said. “This is probably one of the biggest projects to come to Adairville in years. We're going to reap a lot from this.”
Post a Comment
