St. Louis County School Board members approved purchase agreements for land for two new schools, despite objections by some over the price, which in one case is more than double the assessed value.

The sales are contingent on the public’s passage of a $78.8 million bond issue on Dec. 8.

“I thought we were paying way too much money,” said Zelda Bruns, who represents the Orr attendance area on the board and voted against all three sales. The prices were “out of line” for what property is selling for in the region, she said.

Andy Larson, who opposed all but one of the land sale agreements, shared Bruns’ concern. “They’re pretty pricey... way more than 40s are going for around the area,” he said.

Three properties

Board members met in closed session for more than an hour before emerging with three separate purchase agreements for action. According to Natalie Hoff, who handled negotiations for the sales agreement, the properties were not appraised, but prices were determined by comparing assessments, auctions and sales of surrounding properties. Hoff works for F.I. Salter, a Duluth-based realtor specializing in commercial properties.

The first agreement, approved on 5-2 vote, was to buy about 80 acres from LeRoy Tschida along Highway 53 and about 4.7 miles north of Cook for a new school to serve the district’s northern region. The selling price was $2,300 an acre or roughly $184,000.

According to Hoff, the property was assessed at $1,000 an acre, but land had been going for about $2,100 an acre in the region. An auction of nearby property had been listed at $2,200 an acre, according to Hoff, who said she confirmed the information with Karen Zeisler of the St. Louis County Land Department.

Hoff added that the district has the option of not buying the entire 80 acres, and suggested it could wind up buying five to ten acres less.

Bruns said her opposition to the sale was motivated both by the price and her dissatisfaction with the site for the school. She preferred the alternative site at Gheen, which would place the new school closer to Orr, Crane Lake and Nett Lake, but still within a short driving distance of Cook.

Board members also approved agreements with two property owners to buy land in the south for a new school to serve AlBrook and Cotton students.

An agreement to buy 26 acres and a house on the property from Jim and Darlene Zywicki for $229,000 passed on a 6-1 vote. According to the St. Louis County’s Assessor’s Office, the market value for the property is listed at $148,600. Taxes payable on the land totaled $1,160 in 2009.

Hoff said, however, the house had been remodeled and a contract for deed for the individual renting the home had been offered at $229,000.

Larson supported the sale, noting that the district can sell the house and about ten acres of land to recoup a portion of its costs. Hoff said that’s the intent of the district.

On a 5-2 vote, board members agreed to buy about 43 acres from Jim and Yoi Sowle, of Culver, for $4,100 an acre or about $176,300. The property had been assessed at $1,500 an acre, Hoff said, but property in the area had been selling for as much as $2,200 an acre.

Hoff also noted that the district was purchasing upland property, which increased its value, and also said the sale would disrupt a gravel selling business that the owners had established at the site. As part of the deal, the district will also get an easement for storm water.

“And the bottom line is that the owners wouldn’t sell for anything less” than $4,100 an acre, said Hoff, who said the costs of obtaining property at the district’s secondary site for the new south school would likely have been higher with two houses on the sites.

She also added that the district did not want to initiate condemnation proceedings to obtain land for the schools, saying that taking someone’s land would have been a time-consuming process and politically could have hurt the upcoming referendum.

Land acquisitions budgeted

Consultant Jeff Schiltz, of Johnson Controls, said the property sales fall within the budget set aside for land acquisition. According to Schiltz, $500,000 per site had been set aside for acquiring land for the new schools. But Bruns disputed that claim, saying consultant Randy Anderson had told her that $100,000 to $150,000 had been earmarked for each site for land purchases.

The closing date for the purchases has been scheduled for Dec. 22, provided the bond issue is approved by voters. To ensure that the land remains available to the district, each property owner was paid a $2,500 holding fee.

Meanwhile, additional prep work at each site will be required should the purchases proceeed, including completion of wetlands delineation.