School Board Has Concerns About Land Offer

FARMINGTON — Farmington School Board members asked for clarification Monday night about an offer submitted to purchase 27 acres of undeveloped land next to Williams Elementary School on Broyles Street.

Former school board member Bleaux Barnes with MadSky Construction submitted an offer Sept. 18 to purchase the land for $525,000, about $19,500 per acre. Barnes resigned from the board in July and the board voted to appoint Amy Hill to take his place.

The offer was made through Mathias Properties Fayetteville LLC. Bill Helmer signed as principal broker and Barnes signed the offer as selling agent. Ronnie Davidson with MadSky Construction also signed the offer. Davidson attended the school board meeting on behalf of MadSky Construction.

The purchase price includes 2.9 acres of flood plain and the remaining 24.10 acres.

A preliminary proposal shows the property would have 73 lots for single family residences. It would have two entries into the subdivision from Broyles Street and the development would be located north of Williams Elementary and also located to the east directly behind Williams.

Superintendent Bryan Law and board members expressed several concerns about the proposal at their regular meeting Monday night. They wanted a privacy fence to separate the subdivision from school property and also asked to receive information showing the actual property line for the 27 acres in the offer. One concern was that the subdivision was too close to the school and would not provide enough buffer zone between the school and residences.

Another board member said the price per acre seemed a little low.

Davidson said the drawing of the subdivision was preliminary and put together to give the board something to view. He said he would take the concerns back to the firm.

School board members decided at their Aug. 24 meeting to try to sell the land next to Williams for about $25,000 per acre, based an appraisal completed two years ago by Stringfellow and Associates of Farmington. The firm gave the land an appraised market value of $450,000 or $22,300 per acre for 20 acres.

It was agreed upon by board members in August that proceeds from selling the land could be used for a new high school building or for phase 3 of the new high school, which is a football stadium and track.

Barnes and board member Doug Walker had expressed an interest in purchasing the property about two years ago. The school had the property appraised but the men did not pursue their idea. Barnes was a school board member at the time.

One section in the offer states the property would not be available for multi- family housing. Single-family homes would exceed 1,550 square feet per home. The offer also notes that a final contract would be contingent on construction plans being approved by the city of Farmington and the feasibility of extending sewer and water to the site and a storm water and detention design.

If all contingencies are met, the closing date for the real estate transaction would be Dec. 28, 2015.