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City ready to buy old West Ward
The McCook City Council has decided to purchase the former West Ward Elementary school building from D. Jon Morrison for $100,000.
The council reconvened from a closed session Monday night at its regular meeting and Councilman/vice chair Aaron Kircher announced the purchase. The council will meet again Thursday night at 7 p.m., at City Council Chambers, to vote on authorizing City Manager Kurt Fritsch to provide a $3,000 earnest money deposit for an option on West Ward.
According to Fritsch, the meeting will also allow for public comment on the purchase.
Although the city has no definite plans for the building yet, it was too good a deal to pass up, Fritsch said.
"It's a good investment as a land banking standpoint," he said, citing access to the city auditorium and city facilities.
The building will be purchased using sales tax revenue from 2007.
According to Fritsch, Morrison had approached the city about buying the building. Morrison first purchased the building for $65,000 in July 2004 from McCook Public Schools.
He then offered to sell the building to the city and Red Willow County in October 2005 for $50,000, with the stipulation that the building's use incorporate his father's name, former Nebraska governor Frank Morrison.
The county agreed to the offer but the deal later fell apart.
Morrison then sold the building in December of that same year to Peter Coulter of Vail, Colo., for $130,000.
In July 2006, Coulter asked Red Willow County commissioners to increase the property tax valuation of the building to $385,000.
The Commissioners and Red Willow County Assessor Sandy Kotschwar declined to make the change and Coulter appealed the decision to the state tax equalization board.
The state later ruled in favor of the county.
Morrison received the building back into his possession when Coulter defaulted on payments, Fritsch said.
Mayor Dennis Berry was absent from Monday nights meeting to be with his father, who suffered a heart attack.