School district to use eminent domain
AVON — The Avon school board voted 3-to-2 Tuesday to begin eminent domain proceedings against property owner Mary Jane Wolf in hopes of gaining about 25 of the 30 acres needed for a new Avon Middle School.
Wolf, 57, the owner of land at
But school officials say the site — with ready access to sewers — is the best for a much-needed new school.
Board President Dale Smitek, Vice President Angela Marsiglia and board member Debora Polovich voted in favor of starting the eminent domain process, a legal tool available to governmental entities that allows them to pay fair market value for property needed for projects that are deemed for the public good.
Voting against the use of eminent domain were board members Kevin Romanchok and Susan Harrison, who also unsuccessfully lobbied to have the decision delayed for 120 days.
“Is there a reason it has to be done tonight?” Romanchok said.
Marsiglia said she wanted the vote to be taken immediately – delaying it, she said, would simply allow time for the opposition to build.
The vote angered about two dozen residents who attended the meeting, including Lee Cory, who accused the board of “stealing someone’s land.”
Another resident, Tim Bresnahan, pleaded for a delay of the vote, saying the only public notice was newspaper stories Saturday.
But a majority of the board members said the plans need to get going for the new school, which will require a bond issue to be passed for construction.
Wolf, meanwhile, said the school district has offered to pay her only $30,000 an acre. That’s far less than the figures she’s hearing from developers, she said.
She was joined at the meeting by Attorney Gerald Phillips, who said he would keep an eye on the district’s actions. He said he plans to get an appraisal for Wolf’s property, something that the school district has not yet provided to his client.
After the meeting, Smitek said Avon Schools are hoping to get the new middle school started in 2011. Acquiring the necessary land could cost as much as $1 million, and the school itself could run as much as $16 million, he said.
Todd Wrobleski, the district’s architect on several other school projects, said it would not be cost-effective to renovate and expand the current building.
Smitek said several smaller property owners in the target area are in negotiations with the district to sell their homes to the district, but Wolf did not respond to requests that she sell the land. Under the board’s plan, he said she would be able to retain her home on
Smitek said his own grandfather – under the threat of eminent domain – agreed to sell land in the mid-1950s at $1,000 an acre for the current middle school at
Smitek also said he thinks a lot of the opposition from neighbors stems from the fact they don’t want development nearby.
The new school likely would have entrances and exits from Eagle Creek and
About 550 students now attend seventh and eighth grades in the middle school, but the elementary classes are larger and more space will be needed when they hit the upper grades. At the moment, there are 300 approved building lots in
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by February 20th, 2008 in Local and State.
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