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Bids could put Stark's in vacuum Elks decide to devise lease a different way By DANI DODGE After five years in business at the same location on Fourth and Central in Medford, vacuum shop owner Wayne Smith faces a strange dilemma. The owner of Stark's Valley Vacuum is not vexed by employee problems or fretting about increasing business to stay afloat. Instead of renegotiating his lease, the Medford Elks Lodge is holding a sealed bid auction for the lease and Smith, 63, has to bid the highest if he wants to stay there. "I was flabbergasted when they told me," Smith said. "I thought what the heck is going on?" The Medford Elks Lodge owns the 2,700-square-foot building, which members call The Annex, at 232 N. Central Ave. For most of the past five years, Smith has leased the building for $1,050 a month. Smith's business, which includes his wife and his daughter as employees, combines vacuum sales and service. Smith was notified in June about the sealed bid lease process. Bids are due by Aug. 31, and the winning bidder will be notified by Sept. 7. If he doesn't win, Smith will have to be out Oct. 1. "The basic reason (for the bidding) is to let the market decide what the building lease is worth," said Michael Torguson, the chairman of the board of trustees for the Medford Elks Lodge. "It's a spectacular location." A sealed bid approach to leasing is "weird" for the Rogue Valley, said Frank Pulver, the broker for Pulver and Leever Real Estate Co., which is not involved in the transaction. "It does sound strange to me," he said. "It is certainly not the customary mode of operation, but it has been done in other markets - real strong markets where they have a limited supply and a lot of demand." He said, though, this is not one of those areas. He estimated there's a 5 percent to 10 percent vacancy in commercial properties in the Medford area, and a number that would be comparable to The Annex. "It would be unusual at any single point in time to have 10 people lined up to lease what may be a Class B rental," Pulver said. "This is not a new building." The Annex, one of three properties the Medford Elks owns, was dedicated in April 1960 as a Gold Bond Stamp store. People would receive stamps when they shopped at certain grocery stores and they could redeem the stamps at the Gold Bond Stamp store for items like toys and toasters. The building has housed Stark's Valley Vacuums for 16 years. Smith bought it after getting fed up with the car business, he said. After four years, he sold the business. He said the new owner didn't keep up the payments to him or the Elks. Smith took the business back in May. Tom Allen, a member of the board of trustees, said that when Smith sold the business he did it without the permission of the Elks, breaking his lease. Smith said he informed the Elks of the change but someone there failed to notify the board. Smith said he doesn't want to leave the business again for many years. "I enjoy this business, it's fun and we meet a lot of nice people," he said. "It's interesting because you have a different little problem with every machine that comes in." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.