When the $450,000 sale of the Oxford Veterans Memorial Civic Center and the parking lot behind it closes, all of the proceeds, with the exception of about $2,500, will be dedicated to the future development of a community center.
This decision was the result of a 5-2 vote last week by the township board.
Officials decided to subtract $2,500 from the proceeds to purchase a new automated external defibrillator because the unit that’s currently mounted in the building is considered a fixture and as such, is included in the sale.
In May, the board voted 4-3 to accept a $450,000 purchase offer from Dave Parker for the building, commonly known as the Vets Hall, and the 43-space parking lot behind it. The sale is expected to close on or before Aug. 5.
Due to a deed restriction put into place when the township bought the two-story, 5,318-square-foot Vets Hall for $48,000 in November 1980, all the proceeds from the sale of the building, constructed in 1952, must be used for the development of a community center.
The parking lot, however, has no such deed restriction. It’s a separate piece of property that was acquired from the village.
Because of this and the fact that general fund monies were, at least in part, expended to acquire the parking lot back in the 1980s, Treasurer Joe Ferrari, who cast one of the dissenting votes, felt any proceeds from its sale should be returned to the general fund.
‘The (appraised) value of the parking lot should have been deducted from (the sale) amount,? he told this reporter.
Appraisals conducted last year valued the Vets Hall at $516,000 and the parking lot at $56,000
Ferrari noted he agrees ‘wholeheartedly? the building proceeds should all go toward a future community center.
Supervisor Bill Dunn, who made the motion to dedicate the sale proceeds from both properties to the community center, didn’t see the harm in letting that $56,000 go.
‘It’s still going to be used to benefit the community,? he told this reporter. ‘I’d rather see it doing some good (by) building this center than just sitting in the general fund.
‘It’s not like the township doesn’t have any money. We’ve got a $1.9 million fund balance. Giving up the money from that parking lot isn’t going to break us.?