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September 16, 2009

Carl Junction council reviewing options for senior center

By Emily Younker

news@joplinglobe.com

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carl Junction Senior Center will remain city property once it’s vacated in January, following a recommendation to the Carl Junction City Council on Tuesday.

City Administrator Steve Lawver recommended the city keep and lease the building at 1203 E. Pennell Ave. instead of selling it, because that is the best option economically.

“I don’t think we could reasonably sell it for market value right now,” Lawver said. “The way the market is now, it would have taken us some time to do that.”

Ryan Collier, co-owner of Gambino’s Pizza, said he and his brother Derek Collier are “definitely interested” in leasing the property.

Collier, who with his brother took over Gambino’s nearly two years ago, said the business has seen a lot of growth since then. He said they would like to move Gambino’s from its current location, 1300 E. Pennell Ave., and expand.

“If they (the council) are interested in taking us, we’ll be interested in signing it (the lease),” Collier said.

Lawver’s recommendation is the latest step in what he described as a messy process to find a tenant for the property, which the city acquired from a not-for-profit board, Citizens for a Better Life, last year.

It is currently being used as the senior center, which will move into the new community center on Main Street when it’s complete in January.

In August, the city received two bids for the property. Carl Junction residents William and Vera Russell bid about $72,000 to be able to lease the property out themselves, Lawver said. The Colliers submitted a $60,000 bid on behalf of Gambino’s.

Vera Russell did not address the council at Tuesday’s meeting and the couple could not be reached for comment Tuesday or Wednesday.

But after the bids came in, the Planning and Zoning Committee asked the city to have the property appraised. The appraisal came in at $113,000.

Because that was about $40,000 more than the highest bid, the City Council voted at its Sept. 1 meeting to reject both bids and asked Lawver to review available options.

Other options, Lawver said, include reopening the bidding in the hopes of getting bids closer to the market value or hiring a real estate agent to sell it.

Councilman Mark Powers said he agreed with Lawver’s recommendation.

“The assessed valuation was much above the bids we received, so I don’t think we should sell at this time,” he said.

Mike Talley, city attorney, has been charged with drafting a formal lease, Lawver said.

Lawver, who said he wants to find a tenant who will contribute economically to the city, said he has been approached by the Colliers about leasing the property to Gambino’s.

“We wanted an active ongoing business that needed to expand (or) someone who could move into it and start creating revenue for the city,” he said.

Chris Byler, a Carl Junction resident, said he would like to see the building occupied by any business that would bring in revenue for the city. Gambino’s Pizza would be a good choice, he said.

Tom Strausbaugh, also of Carl Junction, said he just wants to see the building occupied.

“No matter what kind of building it is, I don’t want to see it empty,” he said.



Guidance

Steve Lawver, Carl Junction city administrator, said Missouri statutes are silent on how the city should proceed with getting rid of a building and property. He said his guidance has been the city’s code book, which states that the council and the mayor are allowed to sell or lease property but offers no process for doing that.

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