Group Sues Town to Stop Sale of Old School
School and parking lot front to newly refurbished Central Park.
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
July 17, 2012
The residents group known as Old School Cape Charles has filed a lawsuit and requested an injunction to prevent the Town from selling the old Central Park school, adjoining basketball court, and parking lot to a private developer.
Cape Charles Town Council voted unanimously June 14 to sell the school to Echelon Resources, Inc., a Richmond developer, for $10. The developer plans to use historic tax credits to assist in converting the school into a 17-unit apartment building.
Although Mayor Dora Sullivan signed a contract June 28 to convey the property to Echelon, the sale has not been finalized.
The lawsuit contends that “Town Council has never provided any coherent explanation as to why competing proposals or bids were never solicited or requested.”
It further states that the terms of the proposal made to Town Council by Old School Cape Charles “were superior to the private development proposal . . . but the proposal was rejected, without any coherent or logical basis or explanation.”
Town Council held secret negotiations with Echelon dating back to last summer. The public first learned of the plans on February 9, which quickly led to the creation of Old School Cape Charles, LLC.
On March 19, Old School Cape Charles made their first offer to Town Council to purchase the school and turn it into a community center. Mayor Sullivan informed the group by letter April 4 that their proposal had been rejected.
Old School Cape Charles then offered June 12 to lease the property for $100 per year. When that offer was not accepted, on June 26 the group offered to buy the property outright for $10,000.
Wayne Creed, president of Old School Cape Charles, said yesterday that going to court was “the last thing we really wanted to do — we would much rather be using our resources to perform much-needed repairs on the old school.”
Mayor Sullivan agreed that legal action was unfortunate. “I think it’s shameful that we sue one another when we should take care of one another . . . it’s disheartening,” she told the Cape Charles Wave.
Sullivan said that she and Town Council tried to negotiate with Old School Cape Charles. “When [they] came to the Town Council meeting they were told what they needed to do to improve their proposal, but they came back with a lease proposal,” she said.
Sullivan conceded that Town Council never voted on any of the Old School Cape Charles proposals. She said that the last proposal on June 26 was too late for consideration.
Creed outlined an ambitious plan for how his group could use the property, including classroom space for marine estuarine research, science and high-tech computer labs, and public space for events.
“Given the wonderful work going on at the Cape Charles Christian School, the structure could also provide a place for them to expand and grow,” Creed said.
A copy of the lawsuit may be read here: lawsuit
A copy of the contract between the Town and Echelon Resources may be read here: contract
The June 26 offer by Old School Cape Charles may be read here: OSCC proposal
DISCLOSURE: Cape Charles Wave reporter Dorie Southern and co-founder Karen Jolly Davis both have been active in Old School Cape Charles, although Davis is no longer associated with the group.
Great – now the town is being sued .. talk about sour grapes!!! Mayor Sullivan hit the nail on the head when she said “I think it’s shameful that we sue one another when we should take care of one another . . . it’s disheartening”. From my reading of the OSCC proposal, it is no wonder that the Town did not accept it. “Where’s the beef” said Clara Peller back in 1984; “Where’s the beef” said the town .. and correctly so.
Financing “will be pursued and obtained” … sure, and I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you too. How much financing is required. Hey, nobody knows because site investigations are required to identify the scope of environmental remediation required. There are no plans associated with facility development, so there can be no estimate. We’re told “don’t worry about it” .. whatever the costs are, ‘we’ll pursue and obtain”. Pardon me if I’m just a bit dubious.
OSCC says they will do asbestos abatement — how nice. What happens if there is oil contamination of the soil … and of the underlying ground water. Anybody think that oil contamination isn’t possible considering the history of the site? Anybody every explored the cost of soil and ground water decontamination?
What about the costs associated with the ongoing facility operation. Staff salaries, resources, maintenance, utilities, etc. … where do those funds come from — the users? There is no kind of operational plan that provides any hope that the facility will be able to maintain itself, even if it were ever able to achieve functionality. Everything is “pie in the sky” and apparently based on the abilities of Wayne Creed to forsee the future. Pardon me again if I still am just a bit more dubious.
The OSCC proposal just doesn’t provide any detail to provide any kind of assurance to the Town that they can get the job done. Where is their project history — they have none — NONE! One could ask the same of Echelon; one should ask the same of Echelon — and the answer is that Echelon has a long history of successful historic renovation. They know how to turn an eyesore (e.g., our old school which has been decaying for years with zero interest expressed by OSCC or anybody else) into an attractive and functioning renovation. Check out their Project Portfilio of Historic Renovations at http://www.echelonresourcesinc.com/projects/index.html. Very Interesting reading – there is hope for the future of the old high school, but it lies with the Echelon Proposal, not with OSCC’s document – the latter isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. Congratulation to the town for recognizing it for what it is.