School board not ready to let go of tiny piece of land

What to do with a piece of land less than a quarter-acre in size that has never been used for “educational purposes” has become a hotly contested issue for the Manatee County School Board.

For the second board meeting in a row, the five-member board spent more than 20 minutes talking about what to do with a 6,093-square-foot piece of land at 2111 Second Ave. E. in Palmetto.

The district has owned the piece of land since at least 1902, according to the district. The district has never used the land itself, but when a house was built next door, homeowners began using the strip of land for a side yard and a driveway.

But the homeowner died recently, and executors of the estate are trying to sell the land. They’ve run into an issue because the area used as the side yard and the driveway technically belongs to the school board.

“It has value, but it’s not of great value,” district executive planner Mike Pendley said of the property. “The buyer is willing to take this without appraisals, without all the other stuff.”

Two weeks ago, Superintendent Diana Greene recommended the school board declare the property surplus and give it away to the homeowner for free so the homeowner could move forward with the sale. The item was originally part of the consent agenda, which is normally approved without any board discussion.

But giving away land didn’t sit well with the board.

“I guess it’s in the best interest of the district to try to get the most money,” school board member Dave Miner said. “I guess that’s a board determination.”

After discussing what type of value the land might have and what other possible uses there could be for the property, the board tabled the issue at the Sept. 13 meeting and returned to it Tuesday.

Greene’s new plan on Sept. 27 was to withdraw her original motions and bring a new proposal to the board at an October meeting.

“We will bring back, at another board meeting, a different recommendation,” Greene said.

Despite no motion or recommendation other than to withdraw the original motion, the board spent almost 30 minutes Tuesday hearing from staff about how much the property might be worth and what it would cost the district if they wanted to try to sell the property for market value.

The board ultimately approved Greene’s withdrawal of the motions and took no formal action on the issue Tuesday.

Greene reported the buyer and seller would be willing to pay the board $5,000 for the land and it’s likely Greene will bring that recommendation to the board at the next meeting. Board members were concerned that the land might fetch more money if it was put out to market.

“Value is determined by what somebody will pay for it,” board chairwoman Karen Carpenter said.

But putting the land out to market might cost more than the board would make on the deal, said Pendley. If the board wanted to put the piece of property on the market, they’d first have to declare it surplus and then have two different appraisers come it and appraise the land, along with a number of other steps that take up staff time and resources.

“It utilizes a lot of staff resources and money to sell a piece of property,” Pendley said.

If the board doesn’t make a decision soon, staff will recommend a fence be constructed around the area to help reduce the district’s potential liability.

Pendley reported a fence could cost an estimated $6,000.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "School board not ready to let go of tiny piece of land."