County to decline right of first refusal on two school-owned parcels so Board of Education can sell for Ashley Elementary funding

Forsyth County staff told commissioners at the Sept. 8 briefing that the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Board of Education had declared two tracts (0 Nicholson Road and 0 Terry Road) surplus and offered the county a statutory right of first refusal. The parcels were originally acquired as a site for Atkins High School but have since been deemed surplus by the school district.

Deputy CFO Lee Plunkett told commissioners the combined tax-office valuation for the two tracts is $1,066,600 and that the Board of Education had a potential purchase offer of $1,100,000. Under state statute the Board of Education must offer the county the right of first refusal; the school board asked the county to consider declining that right so it could proceed with the sale and use proceeds to support the new Ashley Elementary School project.

Darryl Walker of the school district was present to answer questions and explained that some stormwater easements exist over the parcels and that the prospective buyer is a governmental agency intending to use the land for land banking or potential underground utilities. Commissioners asked staff to verify recorded easements and to obtain written assurances that previously reserved acreage tied to retention and drainage (referenced as "paired parcels" in prior planning) would remain available so the sale would not create future retention or site-planning issues.

Plunkett said preliminary checks indicated the bond issue used to acquire the properties had been retired, which, if confirmed, would mean proceeds would not be restricted by old bond covenants. The Board of Education representative said the district is working on a guaranteed maximum price for the new Ashley Elementary School and expects to return to the county with funding numbers, possibly in October.

Ending: Staff recommended the county decline the right of first refusal to allow the school district to proceed with the sale; commissioners asked staff and school officials to confirm easement recordings and the permissibility of using sale proceeds for the Ashley project before formal action on the Sept. 11 consent agenda.