Minutes-05/10/1989

Greenleaf: Don't know. One of the things we recommended was that the city give a quit-claim deed because we have no idea what we have. It's like selling the Brooklyn Bridge. The main thing is the council has to decide what to do with Rugger. Morgan: What kind of value does the alley have if it's sold? Greenleaf: The appraisal recommends offering parcels of the land to adjacent property owners for $100. That would cover the paper work involved to sell it. The land itself has no intrinsic value. Potter: I like the idea of just selling it off in 10 x 60 sections for $100 to adjoining property owners. Ee won't have expense of opening up a street. Hart: Can that be done by quit-claim deed? Greenleaf: Yes. In his appraisal, Branstatter says if adjacent property owners don't want to buy sections of the alley than city attorney must decide. I don't have any answer for that. Ryan: Why not have the price of the property be equal to the cost of maintaining it over the last 115 years or whenever it was vacated? Property owners maintained it anyhow and the city never really had any claim on it. Greenleaf: $100 is not a magic figure. You need at least some nominal sum to sell it. Ryan: What if other six property owners don't buy it? Then you have my $100 and not the other five or six-hundred dollars from the others. They're not going to buy it. Why should they? Stratton: You don't know that. Ryan: Why pay $100 and then have to pay more property taxes? I wouldn't buy it. Spivey: Then let's just forget it and you can bring your drive in the other way and leave the alley there. Stratton: If we leave alley alone and let Mike use it, would we be liable if someone else got hurt on it? Greenleaf: Yes. But it's not a problematic issue. Ryan: My property insurance would cover anything like that. Greenleaf: It's not a significant risk.