District Contracts with Pleasant View Realty

PLYMOUTH – School District officials will enter a six-month contract with Pleasant View Realty, Plymouth, to list the sale of the district’s 21-acre property at the intersection of State 67 & Hill & Dale Road.

The board voted unanimously at Tuesday’s monthly meeting to contract the services of Pleasant View Realty for this purpose.

Last fall, School District officials had considered authorizing the conveyance and sale of the vacant, real property to the city of Plymouth. The city had presented an offer of $741,300, or $35,300 per acre for the land, the former Davis property, to be used for the construction of a new Plymouth Utilities headquarters facility.

Since the electorate must make a decision regarding the sale of school district property, a special meeting of the electorate was held Nov. 9, with taxpayers voting in favor of allowing the district to sell the land.

School district officials then reviewed the city’s offer and counter-offered at a higher price.

The city rejected the counter offer. However, the nearly 21-acre property they decided to purchase instead, at the northeast corner of County PP and South Street, cost more than the price of the school district’s counter offer.

The city will pay $47,500 per acre for the property they will purchase – 15.4 acres from Jeffrey and May Steinhardt and 5.3 acres from Jeffrey and James Steinhardt, for a total of about $980,000. The location selected was one of six sites considered by the Plymouth Utilities Building Committee during the past year.

Following the committee’s action to approve the site at County PP and South Street, the Plan Commission took up the proposal. The commission reviewed the recommendation against the city’s Master Plan and planned-use map, and then recommended the land purchase to the City Council.

The Council voted 5-2 to approve the purchase, with Alderman Charles Hansen absent and aldermen Ron Lade and Jim Sedlacek voting against the purchase.

Meanwhile, the School district will now list its property at the same price per acre that the city is paying for its land – $47,500, for a total price of about $997,500 and will pay Pleasant View Realty 4 percent commission on the selling price.

Board President Mark Rhyan said he is disappointed that the city chose a different site for the new Plymouth Utilities headquarters facility.

“Unfortunately, the recommendation was to have the city purchase a site other than ours,” he said. “It’s rather disturbing to me that the city and school district missed an opportunity to work together. The school district property very much met the needs of the city and the Plymouth Utilities group.”

Rhyan noted that the Plymouth Utilities Building Committee felt the site that has been chosen is more suitable than the school district’s site.

“The primary thing they said is that our property was too close to the residential area in South Hills,” Rhyan noted. “Yet, we have a church, a funeral home and an implement company across from our property.

“Also, the city believed they needed to add on another nine to 11 acres to our property,” he said.

“They had offered the school district $35,000 per acre but are paying $47,500 per acre for the other property or $12,500 per acre more for the property they are purchasing. I think it’s really a shame.”

Rhyan then recommended placing the school-district property on the market with Pleasant View Realty.

According to Jon Miller, the district’s manager of business services, “When we first considered selling the property, we had advertised for bids for commission from Realtors,” he said. “At that point, Pleasant View was the low bid.

“Pleasant View still agrees to the 4 percent commission,” Miller added. “I think they are a successful Realtor in the area and would recommend them for the listing.”

As board members reviewed Pleasant View Realty’s contract, board member Pam Holzhaeuser recommended listing the city of Plymouth as an exclusion, regarding a party who expressed interest in the property prior to the district's entering a contract.

The city had considered buying the property before the school district listed the property with Pleasant View Realty. Therefore, if city officials were to change their minds and want to buy the school district property after all, the school district would not have to pay the Realtor’s commission.

Board members all agreed about listing the city as an exclusion on the contract and considered that stipulation in their vote.