FL proceeds with purchase of property
FOUNTAIN LAKE — The town council approved tapping Fountain Lake’s general fund for a down payment on 10 acres it intends to develop into a community center, prompting the resignation of the lone dissenting alderman in last week’s 3-1 vote.
The council approved an $87,500 purchase price for the 7059 Park Ave. property near the fire station at the junction of highways 5 and 128, Mayor Jack Fields said. Former mayor and Alderman John Pfenenger owns the property and 1,260-square-foot house the council’s development plan said will be remodeled or demolished.
The most recent countywide appraisal valued the property and house at $83,750. According to the appraisal, the house was built in 1950.
Alderman Pete Dow voted against the purchase, telling The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday that he “thinks it’s a bad idea for the town. I don’t believe we have the means to support it financially.”
State municipal aid and turnback money from the temporary half-cent state sales tax voters approved in 2012 are Fountain Lake’s primary revenue streams, as it doesn’t levy sales or property taxes for its general fund. According to the development plan, the general fund has a $90,000 balance.
The plan said that with a $30,000 down payment the town will have monthly mortgage payments of $1,250, leaving a $2,000 monthly surplus after paying an estimated $500 a month in utilities and property taxes. The plan said the state remits almost $4,600 a month to Fountain Lake.
Fields said the town expects to close on the property next month, and that grant money could be used to develop it. The development plan estimates a $3,000 cost to demolish the house, or $5,000 to renovate it and bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“The property has a pond, and we could have it stocked for fishing,” said the meeting notice published in the Jan. 10 edition of The Sentinel-Record. “It would take several years to develop but would be a nice place in our community.”
According to the minutes from last month’s council meeting, former Alderman Carl Rader requested that more public input be solicited before the council approved the purchase.
“I haven’t talked to anybody who’s for it,” Rader told The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday, explaining that the money would be better spent on roads. “There’s still some roads in this town that can use some work. The only obligation the state demands of a township is taking care of roads. That’s money that could be taking care of that obligation.”
Fields has said the council is likely to refer an ordinance to voters later this year that would make Fountain Lake a city of the second class, a designation for incorporated areas within the 500-2,500 population range. The latest census put Fountain Lake’s population at 503.
The city attorney and treasurer-clerk are its only paid positions. Fields said the town’s property holdings are limited to the acre it owns behind the fire station.