On March 24, 2005 Dublin City Council wasted $1.7 million of taxpayer money on a land deal gone bad. In one day, a local developer bought 16 acres of land off Eiterman Rd from a retired couple for $1 million. On the very same day, the developer turned around and sold the land to the City of Dublin for $2.7 million. In a sweetheart deal, the City handed the developer a $1.7 million dollar gift of our money. In its rush to acquire land for what was to become the Proton Therapy Center, Dublin negotiated and purchased land at exorbitant prices without ensuring that they were paying market rates for the land. Now, six years later, the Dublin News reported that the agreement for the Therapy Center is most likely dead and will not happen (see article). As part of his 45 minute conversation with the seller, Kevin Walter determined that this is the final chapter of the saga that ends up with a retired couple losing out on $1.7 million; a developer walking away with a single day profit of $1.7 million; the City owning horrifically over valued land and taxpayers left holding the bag.
There is no doubt that Dublin City Council squandered public money and backed a deal that eventually fell through without protecting the interest of the taxpayers. Kevin Walter believes that this deal is an example of the mixed up priorities that pervade the decision making of the Council. Fiscal Responsibility means ensuring that public money is used with great care and forethought. It should not be dealt around with reckless disregard for the consequences. Had the deal gone well, the $1.7 million overpayment would have looked like a minor rounding error in a terrific endeavor. But it didn’t go well and the City made no provision to protect us from that eventuality. On top of it all, a hard working retired couple from right here in Dublin were misled and lost out on a fortune. Not only is this fiscally wrong, but morally reprehensible.
Kevin Walter believes that City Council is accountable to the citizens of Dublin. Kevin Walter believes we need to return Fiscal Responsibility to Dublin City Council.
Check Out the public records on the transaction:
Dublin Ordinance 12-05 authorizing the land purchase
Union County Property Card Parcel 1
Franklin County Property Card Parcel 2
Follow the trail of DBS development company. As a taxpayer, we should be able to confiscate the holdings of the company and bring it back to the city. This will also teach the people doing business with the city that they cannot go scot free after they comit such an atrocity. Thank you for following this lead.
Although it was a serious mistake to purchase the property at that amount, it was purchased at the height of the real estate boom and Council likely felt that they needed to grab the property quickly. What I would love to know is who tipped off the developer that Council was interested in the property and did they get a “bonus” for the tip.
It is very possible that the developer held an option on the land at the $1mm pricepoint that had been negotiated well before the land peaked in value. At face value there may be more facts to this
Response:
You are absolutely correct. The developer did hold the contract for three years at $1m. The concern I have is that the City should never have agreed to a $2.7million deal. The developer should have been compensated for putting the deal together, potentially $1.2m or $1.5m, but certainly not $2.7m. In its rush to buy the land, the significantly overpaid for the land.