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Council wrestles with real estate
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: March 23, 2017

The Valley Center City Council found itself in the middle of the real estate business March 21, and some council members didn't like it one bit.

During a meeting that lasted more than two hours, the council approved taking ownership of 46 hard-to-sell residential lots in the Ridgefield subdivision, OK'd spending up to $10,000 to market the properties to potential buyers, debated giving away water to owners of homes that would be built on those properties and voted for a generous property tax abatement for buyers of new homes anywhere in Valley Center.

It was a lot to take on in one night, at least two council members said.

"I appreciate your patience," City Administrator Scott Hildebrand said.

The tax abatement was designed to spur new home construction in Valley Center and sell existing new homes.

According to the resolution, owners of new homes would be exempt from paying city property taxes for five years.

Hildebrand said the incentive could lead to renewed interested in the Prairie Lakes subdivision on 77th as well as possible new developments.

Wes Galyon, president of Wichita Builders Association, told the council that the incentive program is "forward thinking."

"I think you will see very positive benefits of having a program right now," he said.

Tom Bartel, Valley Center realtor, said word of the incentive is already creating interest.

In another real estate-related move, the council accepted the city land bank's recommendation to allow the land bank to own residential lots in the Ridgefield subdivision, which is north of Fifth between Interurban and Kessler. The lots are currently owned by Mennonite Housing, which had big plans for the subdivision that failed to materialize.

Mennonite Housing sold several lots to a duplex developer. Mennonite Housing officials said it will have trouble making the specials payments on the remaining undeveloped lots, so it asked the city to take them.

However, the lots are coming with strings attached, the council is learning.

There is a $5,000 lien of sorts on 29 of the 46 lots by the federal Housing Assistance Council. If the city sells one of the lots, the city has to pay off the lien, and any revenue above the $5,000 would be split between the city and the Housing Assistance Council, which helped subsidize Mennonite Housing's efforts in the subdivision.

That didn't sit well with at least one council member.

"My problem is, what if we can't sell it for that (price)?" asked council member Lou Cicirello. "It has already been offered for that and there has been no interest."

Kristine Polian, assistant city administrator, said the city was opposed to taking any lots with liens attached. However, the Housing Assistance Council insisted.

There may be a way to get out from under the liens, Polian said. If the city can show there is no market for the lots, the Housing Assistance Council may remove the liens.

"We don't have a lot of choice," Polian said. "… If you let these properties go to auction, you'll get somebody to buy them, but they won't pay taxes. … We need to get these specials paid. We're not excited about it, but this is the best option right now. It's tough. I get it. We have to try to do something."

Cicirello said he thought the properties would come to the city without such stipulations.

"It's my opinion that we're trying to do them a favor but they're turning around and kicking us in the butt," he said.

Hildebrand said something has to be done in the Ridgefield addition.

"Nothing is happening out there," Hildebrand said. "Nothing will continue to happen out there unless we try."

In another related move, the city council gave first-round approval to an ordinance that would freeze the specials and taxes due on the 46 lots. The payment schedule would resume — with the unpaid portion amortized — when the lots are sold.

The city also is negotiating with the Ridgefield Homeowners Association to drop dues and architectural controls on the 46 lots, an agreement that had not been ironed out before the city council's meeting this week.

"Why do we need to approve this before getting that information?" council member Gina Gregory asked.

Polian said the agreement should be finalized in the "next couple of days."

"We need to move on marketing these properties immediately," she said.

The city will not build any homes, but plans to sell the empty lots.

After the motion was made to accept the properties, Cicirello exposed his frustrations again.

"This is turning into a nightmare," he said. "… I didn't trust them (Mennonite Housing) to begin with to build that. … I'm not real happy that we're in this position at all."

City officials said they understood the frustration and will do everything they can to improve the situation.

"We're going to do the best we can to market these properties," Hildebrand said.

Toward that end, city staff recommended an additional incentive for future owners of all new single-family homes that are built on the what will be formerly city-owned lots in the Ridgefield addition.

A proposal called for the city to not charge each homeowner for 10,000 gallons of water each month for four months during the grass-growing season. It was met with mixed reaction.

"I don't like this idea, either," Cicirello said.

Council member Ben Anderson said the incentive — combined with the property tax abatement — could help sell the lots and speed up the homebuilding process.

"I think if we're going to do this, we need to do this to the maximum of what staff recommends," Anderson said "We've got to do what we can. We've got a mess. We've got to fix the mess."

The land bank board of trustees, which is made up of the city council members, voted 3-3 on the proposal, with Dale Kerstetter, Cicirello and Marci Maschino voting against it and Jake Jackson, Anderson and Gregory voting for it.

Mayor Laurie Dove was not at the meeting to break the tie — and council member Al Hobson left before the land bank board meeting began — so the proposal was defeated.

In a final related move, the city council voted to bankroll the land bank's marketing activities with $10,000 from the water and sewer funds.

In other business March 21, the council:

•Learned from community development director Ryan Shrack that Sedgwick County received a conditional-use permit request from the new owner of land between Meridian and Interurban south of 69th North. The new owner wants to use 20 acres of the property as a cemetery. An April county planning commission meeting will be held to discuss the application.

•Learned that Hildebrand made an employment offer to a potential public works director. The plan is to have a new person start on April 3.

•Learned that the senior club will be displaced during construction of the new community center in Lions Park. The club meets in the old community building, which will be torn down when the new facility is built. Anderson said a local church has offered space for the club to meet beginning in mid-June. "I can't put our senior citizens at risk of injury," Hildebrand said. "… It's the best option we have at this time."

•Voted 6-1 to donate $3,000 to the Kansas Collegiate League Baseball organization's new Valley Center franchise. The council wanted the donation to go toward uniforms and to request a City of Valley Center logo on them. Maschino voted against the donation.

•Approved an ordinance and a resolution regarding water accounts and related fees.

•Gave first-round approval to an ordinance that spells out procedures for regulating peddlers, solicitors and canvassers. The ordinance allows the city up to five days to issue a license.

•Approved a contract with Midland GIS Solutions to provide mapping services for the city's public works and parks departments. Cost is $89,302.

•Approved a contract with Professional Engineering Consultants to design upgrades to the city's wastewater treatment plant. Cost is $309,900.

•Approved two related stormwater drainage projects around Lions Park, in preparation for the new community building that will be built there. One project would extend the underground stormwater sewer system from Meridian to Colby along Clay at an estimated cost of $248,248. The second project would extend the system from Clay to the swimming pool drive along Colby at a cost of $128,521.

•Approved a request from the Valley Center Booster Club to use Lions Park for its fifth annual community BBQ Aug. 19.





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