West Linn will ask voters to pay $3.5 million for Oppenlander

"The amount of $3.5M takes into consideration the types of capital improvements that the Mayor outlined in her overview plus the $120K purchase price for the land," Relyea said in an email to Pamplin Media Group. "Capital improvements include those outlined by the city plus ADA upgrades, artificial turf fields, sports lighting, a running track, seating stands, covered dugouts, restrooms, parking and roadways, entry control, a series of covered basketball courts, storm water control systems, changing rooms, food cart utilities, drinking water and safety / first aid station.

"In short a complete sports venue."

Monday was the deadline for the city to decide on a sales price to include on the bond materials that would be submitted to Clackamas County.

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District has owned Oppenlander fields, which are used by youth baseball teams, dog walkers and other recreators, since purchasing the land for $40,000 in 1973. Following over the district's announcement that it intended to sell the surplus property last year, the city began working with the district to purchase the property through a general obligation bond.

The school board had requested the city pay $6.5 million for the land, based on an appraisal conducted last April that valued the 10 acres on Rosemont Road at that price.

The council decided on the $120,000 purchase price, however, based on a more recent appraisal conducted by a firm the two parties jointly hired as part of a purchase and sale agreement.

When the new appraisal came in late last month, some balked at the low figure. The district rejected it outright, with staff claiming it was based on a flawed methodology. The appraisal was based on a stipulation in the purchase and sale agreement that property would be designated as a park, and put to other uses only if voters allowed it under Chapter 11 of the City Charter.

At a , the school board passed a resolution requesting to remove the Chapter 11 stipulation from the agreement and setting the purchase price at $6.5 million. School Board Chair Chelsea King voted for the resolution, but noted that she preferred to get out of the deal altogether. District Chief Operating Officer Pat McGough said the matter could ultimately end up in litigation.

"We are aware of the meeting last night and are reviewing the council's decision," West Linn-Wilsonville School District Director of Communications Andrew Kilstrom told Pamplin Media Group Tuesday. "But (we) don't have further comment at this point as we're still reviewing that decision and last night's meeting."

The $120,000 figure did not come as a surprise to everyone.

West Linn City Councilor Mary Baumgardner said, based on her knowledge of land values and use restrictions, it was a sensible number.

Some community members, including the Friends of Oppenlander — a group that formed last year when the public learned of the district's intent to sell the fields — hoped the city and district would reach a middle ground. The Friends of Oppenlander proposed a compromised purchase price of $3.3 million, an exact average of the two appraised values.

Dean Suhr, the founder of the Friends of Oppenlander, hosted a rally at the fields Saturday, Feb. 12 where he explained the compromise figure to attendees and then taped a copy of his proposal to the doors of West Linn City Hall and the school district administration building.

He and others, like Councilor President Rory Bialostosky, saw the average price as a reasonable middle ground because it also complied with the terms of the purchase and sale agreement. Based on the reading of the city's legal team, the $6.5 million price proposed by the district does not comply with the agreement, and according to the school district, $120,000 is not fair market value.

The purchase and sale agreement stated that both parties could jointly hire an appraiser to conduct a new valuation of the property. If the city and district could not agree on a single appraiser, they could each undergo their own appraisal and take the average of both values.

Though Suhr and the Friends of Oppenlander advocated the city taking the middle ground, not all who provided input to council Feb. 14 thought that was the right approach.

Several of the 13 community members who offered public comment before the council's Oppenlander discussion, including former city councilors Brenda Perry and Teri Cummings and former Mayor Russ Axelrod, said the city should use the $120,000 purchase price.

Bialostosky said he favored the $3.3 million figure.

"My sense of patriotism is highest when tax dollars are at stake," Bialostosky said. "Asking voters to pay $6.5 million because another government has threatened us if we do not do so is not in the best interest of West Linn residents, especially when we as a council have the right to ask our voters to pay less. There are many pressing capital needs issues on the city's plate."

Though she also voted for Relyea's proposal, Mayor Jules Walters earlier in the meeting noted she would prefer a middle ground.

"To me neither the $6.5 million in the resolution nor the binding $120,000 is a fair number," Walters said. "To put our foot down at ($120,000) does a disservice to our overall future of our community. The school district is entangled with our community. So are our taxpayers."

Though it was not his preference, Jones noted he was open to accepting $3.3 million as the purchase price if the only other option was $120,000.

"If we choose to make it a park, that is our choice," Jones said. "It's not a park right now. It's 10 acres of land zoned R-10. It has value. If we choose to pay a legitimate price for it knowing we're going to make it a park, then that is our choice to make it a park. And if it loses value by becoming a park, that was our choice to allow it to lose value. Because we want to make it a park does not mean the school district, which represents the people of West Linn, it does not mean they lose value in the process."

As approved by the council, the bond measure would increase West Linn property tax rates to 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value if passed by voters.