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Thank you to all who referred to and reminded others of the facts surrounding the sale of the Lincoln building. I appreciate the respectful discussion. I dug into the deep recesses of my school board email so I could help offer more information if needed. The following is a timeline--
On 10/02/2003 the board rejected WSU's offer of $700,000 for Lincoln.
In a Winona Post article on that meeting it explains that WSU was not inclined to offer more because extensive remodeling (about $5 million)would be needed for it to suit their needs, ($3 million alone for asbestos abatement). Instead they felt it more cost effective to tear it down at a cost of about $600,000.
Open bidding for the property would go from the end of Oct. until mid Dec.
Bids closed on Dec. 17th at 2pm---there were no bids.
Board was disappointed and re-entered discussion with WSU with intent to sell.
Dec. 19th the board received an email from Supt. Bartleson that in preliminary discussion, WSU was "very interested" in resubmitting their offer and active discussion began.
On Jan. 8, the board received an email from Jeff Seeley stating that he had just received a letter of intent to purchase from Community Bible for the board to consider.
The background was that 1 wk prior, a gentleman had entered the business office and asked if the building was still for sale and was told by Jeff's secretary of the board's intent to sell to WSU. Jeff informed the board that he would draft an addendum for that night's board meeting for the board to discuss the offer and give direction. (and that's when all the bru-ha-ha started and Winona Daily News did the article on "virtual" meeting and accusation of violating the open meeting law. There was a quorum of the board that emailed on the subject,but the reasoning behind it was that it shouldn't be an agenda item but discussed and was discussed at the public comment period,which the majority felt was a more appropriate place for this discussion.) I know I was angry that this was taking place when we had in good faith been negotiating with WSU, and yes, it was a matter of ethics.
By the way, we also had a private citizen offer to purchase the building that night for the same amount also and he would in turn lease the building back to us. (that wasn't very well received either)
Ruth raised the question about selling the building in the first place. If we didn't, we would be sticking a lot more $s into repairs over the years (see reference to WSU unwillingness to offer more for the purchase price)---I would rather see us putting those $s into the existing educational buildings we have, so our students can also benefit. Over the long term, it does save money.
This board has been accused of mismanaging dollars, I take offense at that, give me specifics of what you think I have mismanaged, I'm not talking in the last fifty years, I mean, in the last 3. We have created efficiencies that save this district at least $1mil. per year and have also taken care of some major repairs, built a decent positive fund balance, and bring in even more dollars to this district through our lease agreements with the charter schools and Hiawatha Valley Ed. Dist. I think we have been very innovative and creative to make every dollar stretch, I also know that each board member has put in countless hours of service to the expense of their families, friendships, and businesses. And why? because we are dedicated to this community and the students of this district.
Susan
-------Original Message-------
Date: 02/22/06 13:46:25
Subject: Re: [Winona] Answers needed
[Winona Online Democracy]
So from the evidence submitted, I see that the school board did open the
bidding, but no other bids came through until AFTER the WSU bid had already
been accepted. It seems that opening the bidding on the Ridgeway school is
consistent with the way the Lincoln building was handled.
I think it is fine to scrutinize a public body, but let's accept the facts
once they are offerred. The actions of the board are, indeed, ethical in
this case. The facts provided (thank you Blandine and Jim) support this.
I believe that the Ridgeway building will continue to be dealt with in an
ethical manner as well. Let's not make WOD a medium for spreading conspiracy
propaganda, but let's examine the facts and draw logical conclusions,
please! I think that this exchange is an example of the power of this forum
to do just that.
Kathy Seifert
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 12:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Winona] Answers needed
[Winona Online Democracy]
The bid was from Community Bible Church.
Here's part of the WDN story from 1/4/04
The Winona school board is sticking with Winona State University, despite an
$800,000 offer from a local church to buy the Lincoln building.
That's $100,000 more than Winona State offered for the property at the
corner of Huff and Sarnia streets.
Board members say, however, that it would be "unethical" to back out of the
WSU deal, and Todd Rasmussen added that the board would be "errant in
allowing additional negotiations to continue at this time."
Board members originally rejected WSU's $700,000 offer because it was far
less than the $1.75 million assessed value of the land and building. When an
official bid process yielded no new offers, however, the board reconsidered.
Last month, board members accepted WSU's offer if it was still on the table
< with the understanding that, in voting to accept the offer, they were
committing themselves to the deal.
"The board in receiving no bids moved to the next stage," Rasmussen said,
and it would "unethical" to back out now.
Steve James from Community Bible Church said he was sorry that he had not
approached the board earlier about purchasing the property. But the church's
facilities committee first needed to assess the church's needs and just
recently filed its report.
> Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:21:52 -0600
> Subject: Re: [Winona] Answers needed
>
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
> thank you Tania, that is exactly what I meant. I do not recall the name
> of
> the party that submitted the higher bid for Lincoln either. I suppose it
> should be in the board minutes?
> Linda Fort
>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 12:11 PM
> Subject: RE: [Winona] Answers needed
>
>
> I may be wrong on this, but here is how I see Linda's logic with her
> statement:
>
> If I recall the papers, I believe there was a higher bid on the Lincoln
> building. I do not know specifics as to how or why it was declined or
> did not go through, but none the less--a lower bid of $700,000 was
> accepted.
>
> I believe Linda is wondering if a lower bid can be accepted at Lincoln,
> why then can't the bid for Ridgeway from a friendly party be seriously
> considered?
>
> I am interested in watching how this all pans out. Sale of Ridgeway to
> Ridgeway Assoc. closes all doors to reacquiring a school that is now
> filled to the brim.
>
> I have found that sometimes there is reasoning to decisions, but the
> reasoning is so poorly explained that it leads to public confusion and
> misinterpretation. This is not the public's fault though, especially in
> today's information age.
>
>
> Tania M. Schmidt
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Behalf Of Blandine Berthelot
> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 11:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [Winona] Answers needed
>
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
>
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