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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 28, 2006 School turns down city’s offer Jacksonville can’t meet Cascade Christian’s asking price for property By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — Mayor Jim Lewis told a disappointed crowd of residents on Friday that Cascade Christian had refused the city’s purchase offer for the historic property. Gasps of dismay were heard from the front to the back of the room as Lewis succinctly informed the group that those in charge of the school had not made a counter proposal and were holding to their $5 million asking price for the school’s 7.57 acres, located on the east side of town. "They’re sticking to the original asking price," Lewis said. The news came after the city had spent an hour meeting in executive session. The city’s negotiating team — council members Dick Ames, Bill Leep and Donna Schatz — has been working on the potential purchase for the past few months. But the counteroffer to the $5 million asking price was rejected by the school in a Jan. 20 letter, Lewis said. The property, within city limits and zoned special protection, includes six tax lots and 44,642 square feet of aging structures that have been assessed by Jackson County at a value of $1.25 million. Advertisement In November, Superintendent Ray Johnson said the school’s asking price was based on research of recent land sales in the Rogue Valley. Cascade Christian has preliminary estimates of $4.5 million to build a new school in Medford, Johnson said. That figure does not include buying land, he added. Cascade originally gave the city an early December deadline to decide whether to buy the school site — located in the geographical, cultural and historic heart of Jacksonville. The main building is the century-old Jacksonville School, which was remodeled to house Cascade Christian High School in 1994. Some city officials and residents say purchasing the property would be the culmination of a long-held dream. Schatz urged the city to carefully consider the potential for the property at the Nov. 15 council meeting, and warned the council not to underestimate the memory of the local citizenry still upset the city let the property get away before it was purchased by Cascade Christian. Others see retrofitting the aging structures and the purchase cost as logistical and financial disasters in the making. Purchasing the property and renovating the buildings could take "millions to lots of millions," Lewis said at the November meeting. "There are no grants for millions," Lewis said at that time. Zoning changes requested by potential buyers would have to be approved by the city’s planning commission and council. But Leep explained to the crowd that Cascade Christian had informed the city in its refusal letter that the school was interested in pursuing several offers from developers. Johnson said in November that opportunity to purchase the property was being offered to the city because it had been a good neighbor to the school. The city will not make another offer at this time, Leep said on Friday. "We’re going to give them the space and time to see if Cascade is successful in their other options," said Leep. No public comment was permitted at Friday’s short public meeting. As Lewis gaveled the meeting closed, he declined to answer a resident’s shouted request to state the dollar amount of the city’s offer. Instead Lewis repeated the city had made an offer which was refused. "We don’t have the money to meet their offer," Lewis said. "We don’t have a way to get the money. And they have not budged a nickel on their asking price." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail School turns down city�s offer ">[email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement