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Albany County School District orders new appraisal for 1212 Baker Street and pauses offers
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Summary
After trustees raised concerns that a five-year-old appraisal markedly undervalued the site, the Albany County School District #1 board voted to obtain a fresh appraisal for 1212 Baker Street and approved an amendment pausing all offers until the appraisal is complete.
Albany County School District #1's Board of Trustees voted to obtain a new appraisal for district property at 1212 Baker Street and approved an amendment pausing all offers on the property until that appraisal is completed.
The action followed testimony from the district's realtor, Mr. Walsh, who said the district's comparative market analysis and the district's expired appraisal were “so far off in different spectrums” that a fresh professional appraisal was warranted. Trustees discussed three existing offers — from the city of Laramie, Southeastern Insulation and an offer routed through Hamtree Real Estate — including a $500,000 offer that remained contingent on appraisal. The board record shows an earlier appraisal at $310,000 that several trustees said appeared low given recent local sales.
Trustees debated whether a new appraisal would change private buyers’ willingness to close. Trustee Nate Martin said the move to obtain an appraisal was intended to give the board better information: “I still support, I support selling to the city. I support the affordable housing project,” he said, while also noting the district might be able to capture more funding if the appraisal came in higher.
Trustee Janice Marshall raised a transparency concern and asked that all board members receive any incoming offers directly rather than through staff email forwards. Board members discussed whether a higher appraisal could allow the city to raise its offer despite statutory caps tied to appraised values.
The board approved the motion to obtain an appraisal and approved an amendment to pause offers until the appraisal is completed. The amendment passed by voice vote with one recorded no vote; the record does not include a roll-call tally. The board did not set a firm deadline for completing the appraisal during the meeting.
Next steps: staff will obtain the appraisal and return to the board with results and any recommendations; offers that are currently contingent on appraisal will remain subject to their contingencies.
