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Commissioners weigh swapping downtown parcels with owner in debate over community center site
Summary
City officials discussed an offer from property owner Nick Bishop to swap five parcels for the city building behind the depot. Commissioners debated appraisals, floodplain constraints, parking needs, insurance and potential additional redesign costs estimated around $450,000.
Mayor and staff told the Board they met with property owner Nick Bishop to discuss swapping five parcels of his land for the lot and building behind the depot proposed as the community center site. The mayor said Bishop "was willing to swap his 5 parcels of property for the building in the lot there behind the depot." That proposal prompted detailed questions from commissioners about relative values, floodplain constraints, parking and additional construction costs.
Staff noted an internal appraisal for the city property of about $750,000 and said the county tax roll shows a lower number for Bishop’s five lots; commissioners asked whether the city should pay for an independent appraisal of Bishop’s property before pursuing a swap. "If you want us to go back and tell him, we're not willing to do it, but if you will do an appraisal and if it comes up close to 750,000 in value, then we'll talk," staff said, recommending an appraisal be considered to resolve value differences.
Commissioners raised project-specific concerns: one corner of the city site falls in a floodway, which altered earlier plans and led staff to consider moving the design; officials discussed whether moving the building to a green-space location would require raising grade (staff estimated about 1 foot of fill might be needed) and could add an estimated $450,000 for redesign and additional construction. Staff and commissioners also discussed grant implications: locating the facility partially in a floodway could preclude future CDBG funding for that corner, although staff said the current Connected Communities state grant remains available.
Parking was a specific issue: Bishop’s five lots include two small lots that staff suggested could become public parking managed by the city if acquired; Bishop reportedly wanted continued employee parking access on two of the lots. Commissioners also asked about insurance and state or federal constraints; staff said PEP Partners provides flood insurance coverage the city already maintains and that they had underwriting approval in writing.
No binding vote was taken. Staff asked for direction on whether to request authorization to hire an appraiser and said they could bring a cost estimate to the August meeting; commissioners indicated mixed views about moving the community center site versus proceeding with the originally designed location.
